From this time forth he made no attempt to break the silken chain of her
enchantments. During the next summer, indeed, he attempted a new
Parthian campaign. But his advance was made with reckless indifference
to the safety of his troops. Provisions failed; disease broke out; and
after great suffering he was forced to seek safety by a precipitate
retreat into the Armenian mountains. In the next year he contented
himself with a campaign in Armenia, to punish the King of that country
for alleged treachery in the last campaign. The King fell into his
hands; and with this trophy Antony returned to Alexandria, where the
Romans were disgusted to see the streets of a Graeco-Egyptian town
honored by a mimicry of a Roman triumph.
For the next three years he surrendered himself absolutely to the will
of the enchantress. To this period belong those tales of luxurious
indulgence which are known to every reader. The brave soldier, who in
the perils of war could shake off all luxurious habits and could rival
the commonest man in the cheerfulness with which he underwent every
hardship, was seen no more.
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