Plutarch, Pompey
Bernadotte Perrin, Ed.

31. And certainly his actions soon unmasked him. For he sent out edicts in all directions calling the soldiers to his standard, and summoned the subject potentates and kings into his presence. Moreover, as he traversed the country, he left nothing undisturbed that Lucullus had done, but remitted punishments in many cases, and took away rewards, and did everything, in a word, with an eager desire to show the admirers of that general that he was wholly without power. [2] Lucullus expostulated through his friends, and it was decided that they should have a meeting; they met, therefore, in Galatia. And since both were very great and very successful generals, their lictors had their rods alike wreathed with laurel when they met; but Lucullus was advancing from green and shady regions, while Pompey chanced to have made a long march through a parched and treeless country. [3] Accordingly, when the lictors of Lucullus saw that Pompey's laurels were withered and altogether faded, they took some of their own, which were fresh, and with them wreathed and decorated his rods. This was held to be a sign that Pompey was coming to rob Lucullus of the fruits of his victories and of his glory. [4] Now, Lucullus had been consul before Pompey, and was older than he; but Pompey's two triumphs gave him a greater dignity. At first, however, their interview was conducted with all possible civility and friendliness, each magnifying the other's exploits and congratulating him on his successes; but in the conferences which followed they could come to no fair or reasonable agreement, nay, they actually abused each other, Pompey charging Lucullus with love of money, and Lucullus charging Pompey with love of power, and they were with difficulty separated by their friends.

[5] Furthermore, Lucullus, remaining in Galatia, assigned parts of the conquered territory and made other gifts to whom he pleased; while Pompey, encamped at a little distance from him, tried to prevent any attention to his commands, and took away all his soldiers from him, except sixteen hundred, whose mutinous spirit made them, as he thought, useless to himself and hostile to Lucullus.¹ [6] Besides this, he would belittle the achievements of Lucullus, declaring that he had waged war against mimic and shadowy kings only, while to himself there was now left the struggle against a real military force, and one disciplined by defeat, since Mithridates had now betaken himself to shields, swords, and horses. To this Lucullus retorted that Pompey was going forth to fight an image and shadow of war, following his custom of alighting, like a lazy carrion-bird, on bodies that others had killed, and tearing to pieces the scattered remnants of wars. [7] For it was in this way that he had appropriated to himself the victories over Sertorius, Lepidus, and the followers of Spartacus, although they had actually been won by Metellus, Catulus, and Crassus. Therefore it was no wonder that he was trying to usurp the glory of the Pontic and Armenian wars, a man who had contrived to thrust himself in some way or other into the honour of a triumph for defeating runaway slaves.²