B.C. Y.R. 712 that the war may not spring up again or these enemies get 42 away for another period of idleness- the only warriors who are so weak as to rest their hopes, not on fighting, but on declining to fight." 127. In this way Octavius and Antony roused the spirit of those with whom they came in contact. The emulation of the troops was excited to show themselves worthy of their commanders and also to escape the danger of famine, which had been greatly augmented by the naval disaster in the Adriatic. They preferred, if necessary, to suffer in battle, with the hope of success, rather than be wasted by an irresistible foe. Inspired by these thoughts, which each man exchanged with his nearest neighbor, the spirit of the two armies was wonderfully raised and both were filled with undaunted courage. They did not now remember that they were fellow-citizens of their enemies, but hurled threats at each other as though they had been enemies by birth and descent, so much did the anger of the moment extinguish reason and nature in them. Both sides divined equally that this day and this battle would decide the fate of Rome completely; and it did decide it. 2 128. The day was consumed in preparations till the ninth hour,' at which time two eagles fell upon each other and fought in the space between the armies, amid the profoundest silence. When the one on the side of Brutus took flight his enemies raised a great shout and battle was joined. The onset was superb and terrible. They had little need of arrows, stones, or javelins, which are customary in war, for they did not resort to the usual manœuvres and tactics of battles, but, coming to close combat with naked swords, they slew and were slain, seeking to break each other's ranks. On the one side it was a fight for selfpreservation rather than victory; on the other for victory 1 The Roman day, from sunrise to sunset, was divided into twelve hours. The ninth hour was three o'clock in the afternoon. 2 Plutarch relates this and several other prodigies on the authority of Publius Volumnius, a philosopher, who was serving in the army under Brutus. One of these was of a very unusual kind. The arm of one of the centurions in Brutus' camp sweated oil of roses; and although it was several times wiped and dried, it did not cease. (Life of Brutus, 48.) What this portended we are not informed. Y.R. 712 and for the satisfaction of the general who had been forced to fight against his will. The slaughter and the groans were terrible. The bodies of the fallen were carried back and others stepped into their places from the rear ranks. The generals flew hither and thither overlooking everything, exciting the men by their ardor, exhorting the toilers to toil on, and relieving those who were exhausted so that there was always fresh courage at the front. Finally, the soldiers of Octavius, either from fear of famine, or by the good fortune of Octavius himself (for the soldiers of Brutus were not blameworthy), pushed back the enemy's line as though they were putting in motion a very heavy machine. The latter were driven back step by step, slowly at first and without loss of courage. Presently their ranks began to dissolve and they retreated more rapidly, and then the second and third ranks in the rear retreated with them, all mingled together in disorder, crowded by each other and by the enemy, who pressed upon them without ceasing until it became plainly a flight. The soldiers of Octavius, then especially mindful of the order they had received, seized the gates of the enemy's fortification, but at great risk to themselves because they were exposed to missiles from above and in front, but they prevented a great many of the enemy from gaining entrance. These fled, some to the sea, and some through the river Zygactes to the mountains. 129. The enemy having been routed, the generals divided the remainder of the work between themselves, Octavius to capture those who should break out of the camp and to watch the main camp, while Antony was everywhere, and everywhere attacking, falling upon the fugitives and those who still held together, and upon their other campingplaces, crushing all with vehement impetuosity. Fearing lest the leaders should escape him and collect another army, he despatched cavalry upon the roads and outlets of the field of battle to capture those who were trying to escape. These divided their work; some of them hurried up the mountain with Rhascus, the Thracian, who was sent with them on account of his knowledge of the roads. They surrounded the fortified positions and escarpments, hunted down the fugitives, and kept watch upon those inside. Others pur B.C 42 Y.R. B.C. 712 sued Brutus himself. Lucilius seeing them rushing on 42 furiously, surrendered himself, pretending to be Brutus, and asked them to take him to Antony instead of Octavius; for which reason chiefly he was believed to be Brutus trying to avoid his implacable enemy. When Antony heard that they were bringing him, he went to meet him, with a pause to reflect on the fortune, the dignity, and the virtue of the man, and thinking how he should receive Brutus. As he was approaching, Lucilius presented himself, and said with perfect boldness, “You have not captured Brutus, nor will virtue ever be taken prisoner by vice. I deceived these men and so here I am." Antony, observing that the horsemen were ashamed of their mistake, consoled them, saying, "The game you have caught for me is not worse, but better than you think - as much better as a friend is than an enemy." Then he committed Lucilius to the care of one of his friends, and later took him into his own service and employed him in a confidential capacity. CHAPTER XVII Brutus escapes to the Mountains - His Officers decline to fight again - Brutus commits Suicide - Character of Brutus and CassiusTheir Crime against Cæsar - The Spectre in Brutus' Tent - Death of Young Cato-Death of Portia - Magnitude of the Victory-Its Lasting Results 130. Brutus fled to the mountains with a considerable force, intending to return to his camp by night, or to move down to the sea. But since all the roads were encompassed by guards he passed the night under arms with all his party, and it is said that, looking up to the stars, he exclaimed: "Forget not, Zeus, the author of these ills," referring to Antony. It is said that Antony himself repeated this saying at a later period in the midst of his own dangers, regretting that, when he might have associated himself with Cassius and Brutus, he had become the tool of Octavius. At the present time, however, Antony passed the night under arms with his outposts over against Brutus, 1 Ζεῦ, μὴ λάθοι σε τῶνδ ̓ ὃς αίτιος κακῶν. From the Medea of Euripides, 332. Y.R. B. C. 712 fortifying himself with a breastwork of dead bodies and 42 spoils collected together. Octavius toiled till midnight and then retired on account of his illness, leaving Norbanus to watch the enemy's camp. 131. On the following day Brutus, seeing the enemy still lying in wait for him, and having less than four full legions, which had ascended the mountain with him, thought it best not to address himself to his troops, but to their officers, who were ashamed and repentant of their fault. To them he sent to put them to the test and to learn whether they were willing to break through the enemy's lines and regain their own camp, which was still held by their troops who had been left there. These officers, though they had rushed to battle unadvisedly, had been of good courage for the most part, but now, misled by a god, gave to their general the undeserved answer that he should look out for himself, that they had tempted fortune many times, and that they would not throw away the last remaining hope of accommodation. Then Brutus said to his friends, "I am no longer useful to my country if such is the temper of these men," and calling Strato, the Epirote, who was one of his friends, gave him the order to stab him. While Strato was still willing to deliberate, Brutus called one of his servants. Then Strato said, “Your friend shall not come short of your servants in executing your last commands, if the decision is actually reached." With these words he thrust his sword into the side of Brutus, who did not shrink or turn away.1 132. So died Cassius and Brutus, two most noble and illustrious Romans, and of incomparable virtue, but for one crime. Although they belonged to the party of Pompey the Great, and had been the enemies, in peace and in war, of Gaius Cæsar, he made them his friends, and from being friends he was treating them as sons. The Senate at all 1 Dion Cassius (xlvii. 49) says that before killing himself Brutus repeated the words of Hercules: "Delusive virtue, thou art but a name. I cultivated thee as a reality, but thou art the slave of fortune." Florus (iv. 7) puts in the mouth of Brutus nearly the same words: "Non in re, sed in verbo tantum esse virtutem." Brutus' dying speech given by Plutarch is much longer, as well as more appropriate and dignified, and better entitled to credence. Y.R. 712 times had a peculiar attachment to them, and commiseration for them when they fell into misfortune. On account of those two it granted amnesty to all the assassins, and when they took flight it bestowed governorships on them in order that they should not be exiles; not that it was disregardful of Gaius Cæsar or rejoiced at what had happened to him, for it admired his bravery and good fortune, gave him a public funeral at his death, ratified his acts, and had for a long time awarded the magistracies and governorships to his nominees, considering that nothing better could be devised than what he proposed. But its zeal for these two men and its solicitude for them brought it under suspicion of complicity in the assassination, so much were those two held in honor by all. By the most illustrious of the exiles they were preferred to [Sextus] Pompeius, although he was nearer and not implacable to the triumvirs, while they were farther away and irreconcilable. 133. When it became necessary for them to take up arms, two whole years had not elapsed ere they had brought together upward of twenty legions of infantry and something like 20,000 cavalry, and 200 ships of war, with corresponding apparatus and a vast amount of money, some of it from willing and some from unwilling contributors. They carried on wars with many peoples and with cities and with men of the adverse faction successfully. They brought under their sway all the nations from Macedonia to the Euphrates. Those whom they had fought against they had brought into alliance with them and had found them most faithful. They had had the services of the independent kings and princes, and in some small measure even of the Parthians, who were enemies of the Romans; but they did not wait for them to come and take part in the decisive battle, lest this barbarous and hostile race should become accustomed to encounters with the Romans. Most extraordinary of all was the fact that the greater part of their army had been the soldiers of Gaius Cæsar and wonderfully attached to him, yet they were won over by the very murderers of Cæsar and followed them more faithfully against Cæsar's son than they had followed Antony, who was Cæsar's companion in arms and colleague; for not one of them deserted Brutus and Cassius even when they were B. C. 42 |