147
heightened the variance that had already taken place
between Brutus and Cassius; for there was a misun-
derstanding between them, though Cassius was allied
to Brutus by marrying his sister Junia.
heightened the variance that had already taken place
between Brutus and Cassius; for there was a misun-
derstanding between them, though Cassius was allied
to Brutus by marrying his sister Junia.
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PLUTARCH.
this prodigy, desired they would stay with him during
the night. His mind was in the utmost disorder, and
he was apprehensive that, if they left him, the spectre
would appear again; but he saw it no more. Soon
after this his only son, who was now almost grown up
to manhood, on some childish displeasure, or frivolous
affront, threw himself from the top of the house, and
was killed on the spot.
While Dion was in this distress Calippus was ripen-
ing the conspiracy; and, for this purpose, he propa-
gated a report in Syracuse, that Dion, being now child-
less, had determined to adopt Apollocrates, the son of
Dionysius, who was nephew to his wife, and grandson
to bis sister. The plot however was now suspected
both by Dion, his wife, and sister. Dion, who had
stained his honor, and tarnished his glories, by the
murder of Heraclides, had, as we may suppose, his
anxieties on that account; and he would frequently
declare, that rather than live, not only in fear of his
enemies, but in suspicion of his friends, he would die
a thousand deaths, and freely open his bosom to the
assassin.
When Calippus found the women inquisitive and
suspicious, he was afraid of the consequence, and as-
serted, with tears, his own integrity, offering to give
them any pledge of his fidelity they might desire.
They required that he would take the great oath; the
form of which is as follows: the person who takes it
goes down into the temple of the Thesmophori, where,
after the performance of some religious ceremonies,
he puts on the purple robe of Proserpine, and, holding
a flaming torch in his hand, proceeds on the oath. All
this Calippus did without hesitation; and, to show
with what contempt he held the goddess, he appointed
the execution of his conspiracy on the day of her fes-
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? DIoN.
139
trad. Indeed, he could hardly think that even this
would enhance his guilt, or render him more obnoxious
to the goddess, when he was the very person who had
before initiated Dion in her sacred mysteries.
The conspiracy was now supported by numbers; and
as Dion was surrounded by his friends, in the apart-
ment where he usually entertained them, the conspira-
tors invested the house, some securing the doors, and
others the windows. The assassins, who were Zacyn-
thians, came in unarmed, in their ordinary dress.
Those who remained without made fast the doors.
The Zacynthians then fell on Dion, and endeavored to
strangle him; but not succeeding in this, they called
for a sword. No one, however, durst open the door;
for Dion had many friends about him: yet they had,
in effect, nothing to fear from these; for each con-
cluded that, by giving up Dion, he should consult his
own safety. When they had waited some time, Ly-
con, a Syracusan, put a short sword through the win-
dow into the hands of a Zacynthian, who fell on Dion,
already stunned and senseless, and cut his throat like
a victim at the altar. His sister, and his wife, who
was pregnant, they imprisoned. In this unhappy situ-
ation she fell in labor, and was delivered of a son,
whom they ventured to preserve; for Calippus was
too much embroiled by his own affairs to attend to
them, and the keepers of the prison were prevailed on
to connive at it.
After Dion was cut off, and Calippus had the whole
government of Syracuse in his hands, he had the pre-
sumption to write to the Athenians, whom, after the
gods, he ought of all others to have dreaded, polluted
as he was with the murder of his benefactor. But it
has been observed, with great truth, of that state, that
its good men are the best, and its bad men the worst,
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? 140 PLUTARCH.
in the world; as the soil of Attica produces the finest
honey, and the most fatal poisons. The success of
Calippus did not long reproach the indulgence of the
gods. He soon received the punishment he deserved;
for, in attempting to take Catana, he lost Syracuse; on
which occasion he said that he had lost a city, and got
a cheese-grater. Afterwards, at the siege of Messana,
most of his men were cut off, and, amongst the rest,
the murderers of Dion. As he was refused admission
by every city in Sicily, and universally hated and
despised, he passed into Italy, and made himself mas-
ter of Rhegium; but being no longer able to maintain
his soldiers, he was slain by Leptines and Polyperchon
with the very same sword with which Dion had been
assassinated; for it was known by the size, (being short,
like the Spartan swords,) and by the curious workman-
ship. Thus Calippus received the punishment due to
his crimes.
When Aristomache and Arete were released out of
prison, they were received by Icetes, a Syracusan, a
friend of Dion's, who, for some time, entertained them
with hospitality and good faith. Afterwards, however,
being prevailed on by the enemies of Dion, he put them
on board a vessel, under pretence of sending them to
the Peloponnesus; but privately ordered the sailors to
kill them in the passage, and throw the bodies over-
board. Others say that they and the infant were thrown
alive into the sea. This wretch, too, paid the forfeit
of his villany; for he was put to death by Timoleon;
and the Syracusans, to revenge Dion, slew his two
daughters ; of which I have made more particular men-
tion in the life of Timoleon.
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? M. BBMJTUJS.
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? I
MARCUS BRUTUS.
The great ancestor of Marcus Brutus was that Junius
Brutus to whom the ancient Romans erected a statue
of brass, and placed it in the capitol amongst their
kings. He was represented with a drawn sword in his
hand, to signify the spirit and firmness with which he
vanquished the Tarquins: but hard tempered, like the
steel of which that sword was composed, and in no de-
gree humanised by education, the same obdurate seve-
rity which impelled him against the tyrant shut up his
natural affection from his children, when he found those
children conspiring for the support of tyranny. On
the contrary, that Brutus, whose life we are now
writing, had all the advantages that arise from the
cultivation of philosophy. To his spirit, which was
naturally sedate and mild, he gave vigor and activity
by constant application. On the whole, he was hap-
pily formed to virtue, both by nature and education.
Even the partisans of Caesar ascribed to him every
thing that had the appearance of honor or generosity
in the conspiracy; and all that was of a contrary com-
plexion they laid to the charge of Cassius; who was,
indeed, the friend and relation of Brutus, but by no
means resembled him in the simplicity of his manners.
It is universally allowed that his mother, Servilia, was
descended from Servilius Ahala, who, when Spurius
Maelius seditiously aspired to the monarchy, went up
to him in the forum, under a pretence of business, and,
as Maelius inclined his head to hear what he would say,
stabbed him with a dagger, which he had concealed for
the purpose. But the partisans of Caesar would not
allow that be was descended from Junius Brutus,
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PLUTARCH.
whose family, they said, was extinct with his two sons.
Marcus Brutus, according to them, was a plebeian, de-
scended from one Brutus, a steward, of mean extrac-
tion, and that the family had but lately risen to any
dignity in the state. On the contrary, Posidonius, the
philosopher, agrees with those historians who say that
Junius Brutus had a third son, who was an infant when
his brothers were put to death, and that Marcus Bru-
tus was descended from him. He farther tells us that
there were several illustrious persons of that family in
his time, with whom he was well acquainted, and who
very much resembled the statue of Junius Brutus.
Cato the philosopher was brother to Servilia, the
mother of Brutus, who greatly admired and imitated
the virtues of his uncle, and married his daughter
Porcia.
Brutus was acquainted with all the sects of the G reek
philosophers, and understood their doctrines; but the
Platonists stood highest in his esteem. He had no
great opinion either of the new or of the middle aca-
demy, but applied himself wholly to the studies of the
ancient. Autiochus of Ascalon was therefore his fa-
vorite, and he entertained his brother Ariston in his own
house; a man who, though inferior to some of the phi-
losophers in learning, was equal to the first of them in
modesty, prudence, and gentleness of manners. Era-
pylus, who likewise lived with Brutus, as we find in
his own epistles, and in those of his friends, was an
orator, and left a short but a well written narrative of
the death of Caesar, intitled Brutus.
Brutus spoke with great ability in Latin, both in the
field and at the bar. In Greek he affected the senten-
tious and laconic way. There are several instances of
this in his epistles. Thus, in the beginning of the war,
he wrote to the Pergamenians: 'I hear you have given
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? MARCUS BRUTUS.
143
money to Dolabella. If you gave it willingly, yon
must own you injured me; if unwillingly, show it by
giving willingly to me. ' Thus, on another occasion, to
the Samians: 'Your deliberations are tedious; your
actions slow: what, think you, will be the conse-
quence V Of the Pataraeans thus: 'The Xanthians
rejected my kindness, and desperately made their coun-
try their grave. The Pataraeans confided in me, and
retained their liberty. It is in your own choice to
imitate the prudence of the Pataraans, or to suffer the
fate of the Xanthians. ' And such is the style of his
most remarkable letters.
While he was yet very young he accompanied Cato
to Cyprus in the expedition against Ptolemy. After
Ptolemy had killed himself, Cato, being detained by
business in the isle of Rhodes, sent Caninius to secure
the king's treasure; but suspecting his fidelity, he
wrote to Brutus to sail immediately to Cyprus from
Pamphylia ; where, after a fit of sickness, he stayed for
the re-establishment of bis health. He obeyed the order
with reluctance, both out of respect to Caninius, who
was superseded with disgrace, and because he thought
the employment illiberal, and by no means proper for
a young man who was in pursuit of philosophy. Ne-
vertheless he executed the commission with such dili-
gence, that he had the approbation of Cato; and hav-
ing turned the effects of Ptolemy into ready money, he
brought the greatest part of it to Rome.
When Rome was divided into two factions, and
Pompey and Caesar were in arms against each other,
it was generally believed that Brutus would join Cae-
sar, because his father had been put to death by Pom-
pey. However, he thought it his duty to sacrifice his
resentments to the interest of his country; and judg-
ing Pompey's to be the better cause, he joined his
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PLUTARCH.
party, though before he would not even salute Pompey
when he met him, esteeming it a crime to have any
conversation with the murderer of his father. He now
looked on him as the head of the commonwealth; and
therefore, enlisting under his banner, he sailed for Sicily
in quality of lieutenant to Sestius, who was governor
of the island. There however he found no opportunity
to distinguish himself; and being informed that Pom-
pey and Caesar were encamped near each other, and
preparing for that battle on which the whole empire
depended, he went voluntarily into Macedonia to have
his share in the danger. Pompey, it is said, was so
much surprised and pleased with his coming, that he
rose to embrace him in the presence of his guards, and
treated him with as much respect as if he had been his
superior. During the time that he was in camp, those
hours that he did not spend with Pompey he employed
in reading and study; and thus he passed the day be-
fore the battle of Pharsalia. It was the middle of
summer; the heats were intense, the marshy situation
of the camp disagreeable, and his tent-bearers were
long in coming. Nevertheless, though extremely ha-
rassed and fatigued, he did not anoint himself till
noon; and then, taking a morsel of bread, while others
were at rest, or musing on the event of the ensuing
day, he employed himself till the evening in writing
an epitome of Polybius.
Caesar, it is said, had so high an esteem for him,
that he ordered his officers by all means to save him,
if he would surrender himself; and, if he refused, to
let him escape with his life. Some have placed this
kindness to the account of Servilia, the mother of
Brutus, with whom Caesar had connexions of a tender
uature in the early part of his life. Besides, as this
affair was in full blow about the time when Brutus was
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? MARCUS BRUTUS.
145
born, Caesar had some reason to believe he might be
his son. The intrigue was notorious: when the senate
was debating on the dangerous conspiracy of Catiline,
Cato and Caesar, who took different sides of the ques-
tion, happened to sit near each other. In the midst of
the business a note was brought to Caesar from without,
which he read silently to himself. Cato, hereon, loudly
accused Caesar of receiving letters from the enemies of
the commonwealth; and Caesar finding that it had oc-
casioned a disturbance in the senate, delivered the
note to Cato as he had received it. Cato, when he
found it to be nothing but a frivolous letter from his
own sister Servilia, threw it back again to Caesar.
'Take it, you sot/ said he, and went on with the public
business.
After the battle of Pharsalia, when Pompey had fled
towards the sea, and Caesar was storming the camp,
Brutus escaped through one of the gates, and fled into
a watery marsh, where he hid himself amongst the
reeds. From thence he ventured out in the night, aud
got safe to Larissa. From Larissa he wrote to Caesar,
who expressed the greatest pleasure in hearing of his
safety, sent for him, and entertained him amongst the
first of his friends. When no one could give account
which way Pompey had fled, Caesar walked for some
time alone with Brutus, to consult his opinion; and
finding that it was for Egypt, he rejected the opinions
of the rest, and directed his march for that country.
Pompey had, indeed, taken the route of Egypt, as
Brutus conjectured; but he had already met his fate.
Brutus had so much influence with Caesar, that he
reconciled him to his friend Cassius; and when he
spoke in behalf of the king of Africa, though there
were many impeachments against him, he obtained for
PLUT. VoL. VII. K
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? 146
PLUTARCH.
him a great part of his kingdom. 1 When he first be-
gan to speak on this occasion, Caesar said, 'I know
not what this young man intends; but whatever it is,
he intends it strongly. ' His mind was steady, and not
easily moved by intreaties. His principles were rea-
son, and honor, and virtue; and the ends to which
these directed him he prosecuted with so much vigor,
that he seldom failed of success. No flattery could
induce him to attend to unjust petitions; and though
that ductility of mind which may be wrought on by the
impudence of importunity, is by some called good-
nature, he considered it as the greatest disgrace. He
used to say that he suspected those who could refuse
no favors had not very honestly employed the flower
of their youth.
Cassar, previously to his expedition into Africa
against Cato and Scipio, appointed Brutus to the go-
vernment of Gallio Cisalpina. And this was very for-
tunate for that particular province: for while the inha-
bitants of other provinces were oppressed and treated
like slaves, by the violence and rapacity of their go-
vernors, Brutus behaved with so much kindness to the
people under his jurisdiction, that they were in some
measure indemnified for their former sufferings. Yet
he ascribed every thing to the goodness of Caesar;
and it was no small gratification to the latter to find,
on- his return through Italy, not only Brutus himself,
but all the cities under his command, ready to attend
his progress, and industrious to do him honor.
As there were several pretorships vacant, it was the
general opinion that the chief of them, which is the
pretorship of the city, would be conferred either on
Brutus or on Cassius. Some say that this competition
1 Plutarch must here be mistaken. It was Deiotarus, and
not the king of Africa, that Brutus pleaded for.
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? MARCUS BRUTUS.
147
heightened the variance that had already taken place
between Brutus and Cassius; for there was a misun-
derstanding between them, though Cassius was allied
to Brutus by marrying his sister Junia. Others say
that this competition was a political manoeuvre of
Caesar's, who had encouraged it by favoring both their
hopes in private. Be that as it may, Brutus had little
more than the reputation of his virtue to set against
the gallant actions performed by Cassius in the Par-
thian war. Caesar weighed the merits of each; and
after consulting with his friends, 'Cassius,' he said,
'has the better title to it, notwithstanding Brutus
must have the first pretorship. ' Another pretorship
was therefore given to Cassius; but he was not so much
obliged by this as offended by the loss of the first.
Brutus had, or at least might have had, equal in-
fluence with Caesar in every thing else: he might
have stood the first in authority and interest, but he
was drawn off by Cassius' party. Not that he was
perfectly reconciled to Cassius, since the competition
for the pretorial appointments; but he listened to his
friends, who were perpetually advising him not to be
soothed or cajoled by Caesar; but to reject the civili-
ties of a tyrant, whose object was not to reward, but to
disarm his virtue. On the other hand, Cassar had his
suspicions, and Brutus his accusers; yet the former
thought he had less to fear from his spirit, his au-
thority, and his connexions, than he had to hope from
his honesty. When he was told that Antony and Do-
Labella had some dangerous conspiracy on foot, ' It is
not,' said he, ' the sleek and fat men that I fear, but
the pale and the lean;' meaning Brutus and Cassius.
Afterwards, when he was advised to beware of Brutus,
he laid his hand on his breast, and said, ' Do not you
think, then, that Brutus will wait till I have done with
this poor body V as if he thought Brutus the only pro-
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PLUTARCH.
per person to succeed him in his immense power. In?
deed it is extremely probable that Brutus would have
been the first man in Rome, could he have had patience
awhile to be the second, and have waited till time had
wasted the power of Caesar, and dimmed the lustre of
his great actions. But Cassius, a man of violent pas-
sions, and an enemy to Caesar, rather for personal than
political hatred, still urged him against the dictator.
It was universally said that Brutus hated the imperial
power, and that Cassius hated the emperor. Cassius,
indeed, pretended that Caesar had injured him. He
complained that the lions which he had procured when
he was nominated edile, and which he had sent to Me-
gara, Caesar had taken and converted to his own use,
having found them there when that city was taken
by Calanus. Those lions, it is said, were very fatal to
the inhabitants; for as soon as their city was taken,
they opened their dens, and unchained them in the
streets, that they might stop the irruption of the
enemy: but instead of that they fell on the citizens,
and tore them in such a manner, that their very ene-
mies were struck with horror. Some say that this was
the principal motive with Cassius for conspiring against
Caesar; but they are strangely mistaken. Cassius had
a natural aversion to the whole race of tyrants, which
he showed even when he was at school with Faustus
the son of Sylla. When Faustus was boasting amongst
the boys of the unlimited power of his father, Cassius
rose and struck him on the face. The friends and
tutors of Faustus would have taken on themselves
to punish the insult; but Pompey prevented it, and,
sending for the boys, examined them himself. On
which Cassius said, ' Come along, Faustus! repeat, if
you dare, before Pompey, the expressions which pro-
voked me, that I may punish you in the same man-
ner. ' Such was the disposition of Cassius.
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? MARCUS BRUTUS.
149
But Brutus was animated to this undertaking by the
persuasion of his friends, by private intimations and
anonymous letters. Under the statue of his ancestor,
who destroyed the Tarquins, was placed a paper with
these words: 'O that we had a Brutus now! O that
Brutus were now alive! ' His own tribunal on which
he sat as pretor was continually filled with such in-
scriptions as these: 'Brutus, thou sleepest! Thou
art not a true Brutus! ' The sycophants of Caesar
were the occasion of this; for, amongst other invidious
distinctions which they paid him, they crowned his
statues by night, that the people might salute him
king, instead of dictator. However, it had a contrary
effect, as I have shown more at large in the life of
Caesar.
When Cassius solicited his friends to engage in the
conspiracy, they all consented, on condition that Bru-
tus would take the lead. They concluded that it was
not strength of hands, or resolution, that they wanted,
but the countenance of a man of reputation, to preside
at this sacrifice, and to justify the deed. They were
sensible that, without him, they should neither proceed
with spirit, nor escape suspicion when they had effected
their purpose. The world, they knew, would conclude,
that if the action had been honorable, Brutus would
not have refused to engage in it. Cassius having con-
sidered these things, determined to pay Brutus the
first visit after the quarrel that had been between
them; and as soon as the compliments of reconciliation
were over, he asked him, 'Whether he intended to
be in the senate on the calends of March; for it was
reported,' he said, 'that Caesar's friends designed to
move that he should be declared king. ' Brutus an-
swered, ' He should not be there;' and Cassius re-
plied,--' But what if they should send for us V--' It
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? 150 PLUTARCH.
would then,' said Brutus, ' be my duty, not only to
speak against it, bat to sacrifice my life for the liberties
of Rome. ' Cassius, encouraged by this, proceeded:--
'But what Roman will bear to see you die? Do not
you know yourself, Brutus? Think you that those
inscriptions you found on your tribunal were placed
there by weavers and victuallers, and not by the first
men in Rome? From other pretors they look for pre-
sents, and shows, and gladiators; but from you they
expect the abolition of tyranny, as a debt which your
family has entailed on you. They are ready to suffer
every thing on your account, if you are really what
you ought, and what they expect you to be. ' After
this he embraced Brutus, and being perfectly recon-
ciled, they retired to their respective friends.
In Pompey's party there was one Quintus Ligarius,
whom Caesar had pardoned, though he had borne arms
against him. This man, less grateful for the pardon
he had received, than offended with the power which
made him stand in need of it, hated Caesar, but was
the intimate friend of Brutus. The latter one day
visited him, and finding him not well, said, 'O Li-
garius, what a time is this to be sick! ' On which he
raised himself on his elbow, and taking Brutus by the
hand, answered, 'If Brutus has any design worthy of
himself, Ligarius is well. ' They now tried the incli-
nations of all they could trust, and took into the con-
spiracy, not only their familiar friends, but such as
they knew to be brave, and above the fear of death:
for this reason, though they had the greatest regard
for Cicero, and the utmost confidence in his principles
as a republican, they concealed the conspiracy from,
him, lest his natural timidity, and the weariness of age,
should retard those measures which required the most
resolute dispatch.
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? MARCUS BRUTUS.
151
Brutus likewise thought proper to leave his friends
Statilius and Favonius, the followers of Cato, out of
the conspiracy. He had tried their sentiments, under
the color of a philosophical dispute; in which Favo-
nius observed, that the worst absolute government was
preferable to a civil war:. and Statilius added, that it
became no wise man to expose himself to fear and
danger on account of the faults and follies of others.
But Labeo, who was present, contradicted both. And
Brutus, though he was then silent, as if the dispute
had been difficult to determine, afterwards communi-
cated the design to Labeo, who readily concurred in
it. It was then agreed to gain over the other Brutus,
surnamed Albinus, who, though not distinguished by
his personal courage, was of consequence, on account
of the great number of gladiators he bred for the pub-
lic shows, and the intire confidence that Caesar placed
in him. To the solicitations of Cassius and Labeo he
made no answer; but when he came privately to Bru-
tus, and found that he was at the head of the conspi-
racy, he made no scruple of joining them. The name
of Brutus drew in many more of the most considerable
persons of the state ; and though they had entered into
no oath of secrecy, they kept the design so close, that
notwithstanding the gods themselves denounced the
event, by a variety of prodigies, no one would give
credit to the conspiracy.
Brutus now felt his consequence lie heavy on him.
The safety of some of the greatest men in Rome de-
pended on his conduct, and he could not think of the
danger they were to encounter without anxiety. In
public, indeed, he suppressed his uneasiness: but at
home, and especially by night, he was not the same
man. Sometimes he would start from his sleep; at
others, he was totally immersed in thought: from
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? 152 PLUTARCH.
which, and the like circumstances, it was obvious to
his wife that he was revolving in his mind some diffi-
cult and dangerous enterprise. Porcia, as we before
observed, was the daughter of Cato. She was married
to her cousin Brutus very young, though she was a
widow, and had a son, named Bibulus, after his father.
There is a small tract of his still extant, called ' Me-
moirs of Brutus. ' Porcia added to the affection of a
wife the prudence of a woman who was not unac-
quainted with philosophy; and she resolved not to in-
quire into her husband's secrets before she had made
the following trial of her own firmness. She ordered
all her attendants out of her apartment, and, with a
small knife, gave herself a deep wound in the thigh.
This occasioned a great effusion of blood, extreme pain,
and a fever in consequence of that pain. Brutus was
extremely afflicted for her, and as he attended her, in
the height of her pain, she thus spoke to him: 'Bru-
tus, when you married the daughter of Cato you did
not, I presume, consider her merely as a female com-
panion, but as the partner of your fortunes. You, in-
deed, have given me no reason to repent my marriage:
but what proof, either of affection or fidelity, can you
receive from me, if I may neither share in your secret
griefs, nor in your secret councils? I am sensible that
secrecy is not the characteristic virtue of my sex: but
surely our natural weakness may be strengthened by a
virtuous education, and by honorable connexions; and
Porcia can boast that she is the daughter of Cato, and
the wife of Brutus. Yet even in these distinctions I
placed no absolute confidence till I tried, and found
that I was proof against pain. ' When she had said
this she showed him her wound, and informed him of
her motives: on which Brutus was so struck with her
magnanimity that, with lifted hands, he intreated the
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? MARCUS BRUTUS.
153
gods to favor his enterprise, and enable him to approve
himself worthy of Porcia. He then took every means
to cure her wound, and restore her health.
A meeting of the senate being appointed, at which
Caesar was expected to attend, that was thought a pro-
per time for the execution of their design; for then
they could not only appear together without suspicion,
but as some of the most considerable persons in the
commonwealth would be present, they flattered them-
selves that, as soon as the deed was done, they would
join in asserting the common liberty. The place too
where the senate was to meet seemed providentially
favorable for their purpose. It was a portico adjoining
to the theatre, and in the midst of a saloon, furnished,
with benches, stood a statue of Pompey, which had
been erected to him by the commonwealth when he
adorned that part of the city with those buildings.
Here the senate was convened on the ides of March;
and it seemed as if some god should bring Caesar to
this place to revenge on him the death of Pompey.
When the day came, Brutus went out, and took
with him a dagger; which last circumstance was known
only to his wife. The rest met at the house of Cassius,
and conducted his son, who was that day to put on the
toga virilis, to the forum: from whence they proceeded
to Pompey's portico, and waited for Caesar. Any one
that had been privy to the design of the conspirators
would here have been astonished at their calm and con-
sistent firmness. Many of them were pretors, and ob-
liged by their office to hear and determine causes.
These they heard with so much calmness, and decided
with so much accuracy, that one could not have sup-
posed there had been any thing else on their minds;
and when a certain person appealed from the judgment
of Brutus to Caesar, Brutus, looking round on the as-
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PLUTARCH.
sembly, said, ' Caesar neither does, nor shall hinder me
from acting agreeably to the laws. ' Nevertheless they
were disturbed by many accidents. Though the day
was far spent, still Caesar did not come, being detained
by his wife and the soothsayers, on account of defects
in the sacrifices. In the mean time a person came up
to Casca, one of the conspirators, and taking him by
the hand, 'You concealed the thing from me,' said he,
'but Brutus has told me all. ' Casca expressed his
surprise; on which the other said, laughing, 'How
came you to be so rich on a sudden, as to stand for the
edileship V so near was the great secret being blown by
the ambiguity of this man's discourse! At the same
time Popilius Laena, a senator, after saluting Brutus
and Cassius in a very obliging manner, said, in a
whisper, 'My best wishes are with you: but make
no delay; for it is now no secret. ' After saying this,
he immediately went away, and left them in great con-
sternation; for they concluded that every thing was
discovered. Soon after this a messenger came running
from Brntus' house, and told him that his wife was
dying. Porcia had been under extreme anxiety, and
in great agitations about the event. At every little
noise or voice she heard she started up and ran to the
door, like one of the frantic priestesses of Bacchus, in-
quiring of every one that came from the forum what
Brutus was doing. She sent messenger after messenger
to make the same inquiries; and being unable any
longer to support the agitations of her mind, she at
length fainted away. She had not time to retire to her
chamber. As she sat in the middle of the house, her
spirits failed, her color changed, and she lost her senses
and her speech. Her women shrieked, the neighbors
ran to their assistance, and a report was soon spread
through the city that Porcia was dead. However, by
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? MARCUS BRUTUS.
155
the care of those that were about her, she recovered
in a little time. Brutus was greatly distressed with
the news, and not without reason; but his private
grief gave way to the public concern; for it was now-
reported that Caesar was coming on a litter. The ill
omen of his sacrifices had deterred him from entering
on business of importance, and be proposed to defer it
under a pretence of indisposition. As soon as he came
out of the litter Popilius Liena, who a little before had
wished Brutus success, went up, and spoke to him for
a considerable time, Caesar all the while standing, and
seeming very attentive. The conspirators not being
able to hear what he said, suspected, from what passed
between him and Brutus, that he was now making a
discovery of their design. This disconcerted them ex-
tremely, and looking on each other, they agreed, by
the silent language of the countenance, that they should
not stay to be taken, but despatch themselves. With
this intent Cassius and some others were just about to
draw their daggers from under their robes, when Bru-
tus observing from the looks and gestures of Liena
that he was petitioning, and not accusing, encouraged
Cassius by the cheerfulness of his countenance. This
was the only way by which he could communicate
his sentiments, being surrounded by many who were
strangers to the conspiracy. Liena, after a little while,
kissed Caesar's hand, and left him; and it plainly ap-
peared, on the whole, that he had been speaking about
his own affairs.
The senate was already seated, and the conspirators
got close about Caesar's chair, under pretence of pre-
ferring a suit to him. Cassius turned his face to Pom-
pey's statue, and invoked it, as if it had been sensible
of his prayers. Trebonius kept Antony in conversation
without the court. And now Caesar entered, and tha
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PLUTARCH.
whole senate rose to salute him. The conspirator*
crowded around him, and set Tullius Cimber, one of
their number, to solicit the recall of his brother, who
was banished. They all united in the solicitation, took
hold of Caesar's hand, and kissed his head and his
breast. He rejected their applications, and finding
that they would not desist, at length rose from his seat
in anger. Tullius on this laid hold of his robe, and
pulled it from his shoulders. Casca, who stood behind,
gave him the first, though but a slight wound with his
dagger, near the shoulder. Caesar caught the handle
of the dagger, and said in Latin, 'Villain! Casca!
what dost thou mean V Casca, in Greek, called his
brother to his assistance. Caesar was wounded by num-
bers almost at the same instant, and looked round him
for some way to escape; but when he saw the dagger
of Brutus pointed against him, he let go Casca's hand,
and covering his head with his robe, resigned himself
to their swords. The conspirators pressed so eagerly
to stab him, that they wounded each other. Brutus, in
attempting to have his share in the sacrifice, received a
wound in his hand, and all of them were covered with
blood.
Caesar thus slain, Brutus stepped forward into the
middle of the senate-house, and proposing to make a
speech, desired the senators to stay. They fled, how-
ever, with the utmost precipitation, though no one
pursued; for the conspirators had no design on any
life but Caesar's; and, that taken away, they invited
the rest to liberty.
? 138
PLUTARCH.
this prodigy, desired they would stay with him during
the night. His mind was in the utmost disorder, and
he was apprehensive that, if they left him, the spectre
would appear again; but he saw it no more. Soon
after this his only son, who was now almost grown up
to manhood, on some childish displeasure, or frivolous
affront, threw himself from the top of the house, and
was killed on the spot.
While Dion was in this distress Calippus was ripen-
ing the conspiracy; and, for this purpose, he propa-
gated a report in Syracuse, that Dion, being now child-
less, had determined to adopt Apollocrates, the son of
Dionysius, who was nephew to his wife, and grandson
to bis sister. The plot however was now suspected
both by Dion, his wife, and sister. Dion, who had
stained his honor, and tarnished his glories, by the
murder of Heraclides, had, as we may suppose, his
anxieties on that account; and he would frequently
declare, that rather than live, not only in fear of his
enemies, but in suspicion of his friends, he would die
a thousand deaths, and freely open his bosom to the
assassin.
When Calippus found the women inquisitive and
suspicious, he was afraid of the consequence, and as-
serted, with tears, his own integrity, offering to give
them any pledge of his fidelity they might desire.
They required that he would take the great oath; the
form of which is as follows: the person who takes it
goes down into the temple of the Thesmophori, where,
after the performance of some religious ceremonies,
he puts on the purple robe of Proserpine, and, holding
a flaming torch in his hand, proceeds on the oath. All
this Calippus did without hesitation; and, to show
with what contempt he held the goddess, he appointed
the execution of his conspiracy on the day of her fes-
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? DIoN.
139
trad. Indeed, he could hardly think that even this
would enhance his guilt, or render him more obnoxious
to the goddess, when he was the very person who had
before initiated Dion in her sacred mysteries.
The conspiracy was now supported by numbers; and
as Dion was surrounded by his friends, in the apart-
ment where he usually entertained them, the conspira-
tors invested the house, some securing the doors, and
others the windows. The assassins, who were Zacyn-
thians, came in unarmed, in their ordinary dress.
Those who remained without made fast the doors.
The Zacynthians then fell on Dion, and endeavored to
strangle him; but not succeeding in this, they called
for a sword. No one, however, durst open the door;
for Dion had many friends about him: yet they had,
in effect, nothing to fear from these; for each con-
cluded that, by giving up Dion, he should consult his
own safety. When they had waited some time, Ly-
con, a Syracusan, put a short sword through the win-
dow into the hands of a Zacynthian, who fell on Dion,
already stunned and senseless, and cut his throat like
a victim at the altar. His sister, and his wife, who
was pregnant, they imprisoned. In this unhappy situ-
ation she fell in labor, and was delivered of a son,
whom they ventured to preserve; for Calippus was
too much embroiled by his own affairs to attend to
them, and the keepers of the prison were prevailed on
to connive at it.
After Dion was cut off, and Calippus had the whole
government of Syracuse in his hands, he had the pre-
sumption to write to the Athenians, whom, after the
gods, he ought of all others to have dreaded, polluted
as he was with the murder of his benefactor. But it
has been observed, with great truth, of that state, that
its good men are the best, and its bad men the worst,
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? 140 PLUTARCH.
in the world; as the soil of Attica produces the finest
honey, and the most fatal poisons. The success of
Calippus did not long reproach the indulgence of the
gods. He soon received the punishment he deserved;
for, in attempting to take Catana, he lost Syracuse; on
which occasion he said that he had lost a city, and got
a cheese-grater. Afterwards, at the siege of Messana,
most of his men were cut off, and, amongst the rest,
the murderers of Dion. As he was refused admission
by every city in Sicily, and universally hated and
despised, he passed into Italy, and made himself mas-
ter of Rhegium; but being no longer able to maintain
his soldiers, he was slain by Leptines and Polyperchon
with the very same sword with which Dion had been
assassinated; for it was known by the size, (being short,
like the Spartan swords,) and by the curious workman-
ship. Thus Calippus received the punishment due to
his crimes.
When Aristomache and Arete were released out of
prison, they were received by Icetes, a Syracusan, a
friend of Dion's, who, for some time, entertained them
with hospitality and good faith. Afterwards, however,
being prevailed on by the enemies of Dion, he put them
on board a vessel, under pretence of sending them to
the Peloponnesus; but privately ordered the sailors to
kill them in the passage, and throw the bodies over-
board. Others say that they and the infant were thrown
alive into the sea. This wretch, too, paid the forfeit
of his villany; for he was put to death by Timoleon;
and the Syracusans, to revenge Dion, slew his two
daughters ; of which I have made more particular men-
tion in the life of Timoleon.
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? M. BBMJTUJS.
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? I
MARCUS BRUTUS.
The great ancestor of Marcus Brutus was that Junius
Brutus to whom the ancient Romans erected a statue
of brass, and placed it in the capitol amongst their
kings. He was represented with a drawn sword in his
hand, to signify the spirit and firmness with which he
vanquished the Tarquins: but hard tempered, like the
steel of which that sword was composed, and in no de-
gree humanised by education, the same obdurate seve-
rity which impelled him against the tyrant shut up his
natural affection from his children, when he found those
children conspiring for the support of tyranny. On
the contrary, that Brutus, whose life we are now
writing, had all the advantages that arise from the
cultivation of philosophy. To his spirit, which was
naturally sedate and mild, he gave vigor and activity
by constant application. On the whole, he was hap-
pily formed to virtue, both by nature and education.
Even the partisans of Caesar ascribed to him every
thing that had the appearance of honor or generosity
in the conspiracy; and all that was of a contrary com-
plexion they laid to the charge of Cassius; who was,
indeed, the friend and relation of Brutus, but by no
means resembled him in the simplicity of his manners.
It is universally allowed that his mother, Servilia, was
descended from Servilius Ahala, who, when Spurius
Maelius seditiously aspired to the monarchy, went up
to him in the forum, under a pretence of business, and,
as Maelius inclined his head to hear what he would say,
stabbed him with a dagger, which he had concealed for
the purpose. But the partisans of Caesar would not
allow that be was descended from Junius Brutus,
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? 142
PLUTARCH.
whose family, they said, was extinct with his two sons.
Marcus Brutus, according to them, was a plebeian, de-
scended from one Brutus, a steward, of mean extrac-
tion, and that the family had but lately risen to any
dignity in the state. On the contrary, Posidonius, the
philosopher, agrees with those historians who say that
Junius Brutus had a third son, who was an infant when
his brothers were put to death, and that Marcus Bru-
tus was descended from him. He farther tells us that
there were several illustrious persons of that family in
his time, with whom he was well acquainted, and who
very much resembled the statue of Junius Brutus.
Cato the philosopher was brother to Servilia, the
mother of Brutus, who greatly admired and imitated
the virtues of his uncle, and married his daughter
Porcia.
Brutus was acquainted with all the sects of the G reek
philosophers, and understood their doctrines; but the
Platonists stood highest in his esteem. He had no
great opinion either of the new or of the middle aca-
demy, but applied himself wholly to the studies of the
ancient. Autiochus of Ascalon was therefore his fa-
vorite, and he entertained his brother Ariston in his own
house; a man who, though inferior to some of the phi-
losophers in learning, was equal to the first of them in
modesty, prudence, and gentleness of manners. Era-
pylus, who likewise lived with Brutus, as we find in
his own epistles, and in those of his friends, was an
orator, and left a short but a well written narrative of
the death of Caesar, intitled Brutus.
Brutus spoke with great ability in Latin, both in the
field and at the bar. In Greek he affected the senten-
tious and laconic way. There are several instances of
this in his epistles. Thus, in the beginning of the war,
he wrote to the Pergamenians: 'I hear you have given
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? MARCUS BRUTUS.
143
money to Dolabella. If you gave it willingly, yon
must own you injured me; if unwillingly, show it by
giving willingly to me. ' Thus, on another occasion, to
the Samians: 'Your deliberations are tedious; your
actions slow: what, think you, will be the conse-
quence V Of the Pataraeans thus: 'The Xanthians
rejected my kindness, and desperately made their coun-
try their grave. The Pataraeans confided in me, and
retained their liberty. It is in your own choice to
imitate the prudence of the Pataraans, or to suffer the
fate of the Xanthians. ' And such is the style of his
most remarkable letters.
While he was yet very young he accompanied Cato
to Cyprus in the expedition against Ptolemy. After
Ptolemy had killed himself, Cato, being detained by
business in the isle of Rhodes, sent Caninius to secure
the king's treasure; but suspecting his fidelity, he
wrote to Brutus to sail immediately to Cyprus from
Pamphylia ; where, after a fit of sickness, he stayed for
the re-establishment of bis health. He obeyed the order
with reluctance, both out of respect to Caninius, who
was superseded with disgrace, and because he thought
the employment illiberal, and by no means proper for
a young man who was in pursuit of philosophy. Ne-
vertheless he executed the commission with such dili-
gence, that he had the approbation of Cato; and hav-
ing turned the effects of Ptolemy into ready money, he
brought the greatest part of it to Rome.
When Rome was divided into two factions, and
Pompey and Caesar were in arms against each other,
it was generally believed that Brutus would join Cae-
sar, because his father had been put to death by Pom-
pey. However, he thought it his duty to sacrifice his
resentments to the interest of his country; and judg-
ing Pompey's to be the better cause, he joined his
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? 144
PLUTARCH.
party, though before he would not even salute Pompey
when he met him, esteeming it a crime to have any
conversation with the murderer of his father. He now
looked on him as the head of the commonwealth; and
therefore, enlisting under his banner, he sailed for Sicily
in quality of lieutenant to Sestius, who was governor
of the island. There however he found no opportunity
to distinguish himself; and being informed that Pom-
pey and Caesar were encamped near each other, and
preparing for that battle on which the whole empire
depended, he went voluntarily into Macedonia to have
his share in the danger. Pompey, it is said, was so
much surprised and pleased with his coming, that he
rose to embrace him in the presence of his guards, and
treated him with as much respect as if he had been his
superior. During the time that he was in camp, those
hours that he did not spend with Pompey he employed
in reading and study; and thus he passed the day be-
fore the battle of Pharsalia. It was the middle of
summer; the heats were intense, the marshy situation
of the camp disagreeable, and his tent-bearers were
long in coming. Nevertheless, though extremely ha-
rassed and fatigued, he did not anoint himself till
noon; and then, taking a morsel of bread, while others
were at rest, or musing on the event of the ensuing
day, he employed himself till the evening in writing
an epitome of Polybius.
Caesar, it is said, had so high an esteem for him,
that he ordered his officers by all means to save him,
if he would surrender himself; and, if he refused, to
let him escape with his life. Some have placed this
kindness to the account of Servilia, the mother of
Brutus, with whom Caesar had connexions of a tender
uature in the early part of his life. Besides, as this
affair was in full blow about the time when Brutus was
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? MARCUS BRUTUS.
145
born, Caesar had some reason to believe he might be
his son. The intrigue was notorious: when the senate
was debating on the dangerous conspiracy of Catiline,
Cato and Caesar, who took different sides of the ques-
tion, happened to sit near each other. In the midst of
the business a note was brought to Caesar from without,
which he read silently to himself. Cato, hereon, loudly
accused Caesar of receiving letters from the enemies of
the commonwealth; and Caesar finding that it had oc-
casioned a disturbance in the senate, delivered the
note to Cato as he had received it. Cato, when he
found it to be nothing but a frivolous letter from his
own sister Servilia, threw it back again to Caesar.
'Take it, you sot/ said he, and went on with the public
business.
After the battle of Pharsalia, when Pompey had fled
towards the sea, and Caesar was storming the camp,
Brutus escaped through one of the gates, and fled into
a watery marsh, where he hid himself amongst the
reeds. From thence he ventured out in the night, aud
got safe to Larissa. From Larissa he wrote to Caesar,
who expressed the greatest pleasure in hearing of his
safety, sent for him, and entertained him amongst the
first of his friends. When no one could give account
which way Pompey had fled, Caesar walked for some
time alone with Brutus, to consult his opinion; and
finding that it was for Egypt, he rejected the opinions
of the rest, and directed his march for that country.
Pompey had, indeed, taken the route of Egypt, as
Brutus conjectured; but he had already met his fate.
Brutus had so much influence with Caesar, that he
reconciled him to his friend Cassius; and when he
spoke in behalf of the king of Africa, though there
were many impeachments against him, he obtained for
PLUT. VoL. VII. K
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? 146
PLUTARCH.
him a great part of his kingdom. 1 When he first be-
gan to speak on this occasion, Caesar said, 'I know
not what this young man intends; but whatever it is,
he intends it strongly. ' His mind was steady, and not
easily moved by intreaties. His principles were rea-
son, and honor, and virtue; and the ends to which
these directed him he prosecuted with so much vigor,
that he seldom failed of success. No flattery could
induce him to attend to unjust petitions; and though
that ductility of mind which may be wrought on by the
impudence of importunity, is by some called good-
nature, he considered it as the greatest disgrace. He
used to say that he suspected those who could refuse
no favors had not very honestly employed the flower
of their youth.
Cassar, previously to his expedition into Africa
against Cato and Scipio, appointed Brutus to the go-
vernment of Gallio Cisalpina. And this was very for-
tunate for that particular province: for while the inha-
bitants of other provinces were oppressed and treated
like slaves, by the violence and rapacity of their go-
vernors, Brutus behaved with so much kindness to the
people under his jurisdiction, that they were in some
measure indemnified for their former sufferings. Yet
he ascribed every thing to the goodness of Caesar;
and it was no small gratification to the latter to find,
on- his return through Italy, not only Brutus himself,
but all the cities under his command, ready to attend
his progress, and industrious to do him honor.
As there were several pretorships vacant, it was the
general opinion that the chief of them, which is the
pretorship of the city, would be conferred either on
Brutus or on Cassius. Some say that this competition
1 Plutarch must here be mistaken. It was Deiotarus, and
not the king of Africa, that Brutus pleaded for.
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? MARCUS BRUTUS.
147
heightened the variance that had already taken place
between Brutus and Cassius; for there was a misun-
derstanding between them, though Cassius was allied
to Brutus by marrying his sister Junia. Others say
that this competition was a political manoeuvre of
Caesar's, who had encouraged it by favoring both their
hopes in private. Be that as it may, Brutus had little
more than the reputation of his virtue to set against
the gallant actions performed by Cassius in the Par-
thian war. Caesar weighed the merits of each; and
after consulting with his friends, 'Cassius,' he said,
'has the better title to it, notwithstanding Brutus
must have the first pretorship. ' Another pretorship
was therefore given to Cassius; but he was not so much
obliged by this as offended by the loss of the first.
Brutus had, or at least might have had, equal in-
fluence with Caesar in every thing else: he might
have stood the first in authority and interest, but he
was drawn off by Cassius' party. Not that he was
perfectly reconciled to Cassius, since the competition
for the pretorial appointments; but he listened to his
friends, who were perpetually advising him not to be
soothed or cajoled by Caesar; but to reject the civili-
ties of a tyrant, whose object was not to reward, but to
disarm his virtue. On the other hand, Cassar had his
suspicions, and Brutus his accusers; yet the former
thought he had less to fear from his spirit, his au-
thority, and his connexions, than he had to hope from
his honesty. When he was told that Antony and Do-
Labella had some dangerous conspiracy on foot, ' It is
not,' said he, ' the sleek and fat men that I fear, but
the pale and the lean;' meaning Brutus and Cassius.
Afterwards, when he was advised to beware of Brutus,
he laid his hand on his breast, and said, ' Do not you
think, then, that Brutus will wait till I have done with
this poor body V as if he thought Brutus the only pro-
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? 148
PLUTARCH.
per person to succeed him in his immense power. In?
deed it is extremely probable that Brutus would have
been the first man in Rome, could he have had patience
awhile to be the second, and have waited till time had
wasted the power of Caesar, and dimmed the lustre of
his great actions. But Cassius, a man of violent pas-
sions, and an enemy to Caesar, rather for personal than
political hatred, still urged him against the dictator.
It was universally said that Brutus hated the imperial
power, and that Cassius hated the emperor. Cassius,
indeed, pretended that Caesar had injured him. He
complained that the lions which he had procured when
he was nominated edile, and which he had sent to Me-
gara, Caesar had taken and converted to his own use,
having found them there when that city was taken
by Calanus. Those lions, it is said, were very fatal to
the inhabitants; for as soon as their city was taken,
they opened their dens, and unchained them in the
streets, that they might stop the irruption of the
enemy: but instead of that they fell on the citizens,
and tore them in such a manner, that their very ene-
mies were struck with horror. Some say that this was
the principal motive with Cassius for conspiring against
Caesar; but they are strangely mistaken. Cassius had
a natural aversion to the whole race of tyrants, which
he showed even when he was at school with Faustus
the son of Sylla. When Faustus was boasting amongst
the boys of the unlimited power of his father, Cassius
rose and struck him on the face. The friends and
tutors of Faustus would have taken on themselves
to punish the insult; but Pompey prevented it, and,
sending for the boys, examined them himself. On
which Cassius said, ' Come along, Faustus! repeat, if
you dare, before Pompey, the expressions which pro-
voked me, that I may punish you in the same man-
ner. ' Such was the disposition of Cassius.
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? MARCUS BRUTUS.
149
But Brutus was animated to this undertaking by the
persuasion of his friends, by private intimations and
anonymous letters. Under the statue of his ancestor,
who destroyed the Tarquins, was placed a paper with
these words: 'O that we had a Brutus now! O that
Brutus were now alive! ' His own tribunal on which
he sat as pretor was continually filled with such in-
scriptions as these: 'Brutus, thou sleepest! Thou
art not a true Brutus! ' The sycophants of Caesar
were the occasion of this; for, amongst other invidious
distinctions which they paid him, they crowned his
statues by night, that the people might salute him
king, instead of dictator. However, it had a contrary
effect, as I have shown more at large in the life of
Caesar.
When Cassius solicited his friends to engage in the
conspiracy, they all consented, on condition that Bru-
tus would take the lead. They concluded that it was
not strength of hands, or resolution, that they wanted,
but the countenance of a man of reputation, to preside
at this sacrifice, and to justify the deed. They were
sensible that, without him, they should neither proceed
with spirit, nor escape suspicion when they had effected
their purpose. The world, they knew, would conclude,
that if the action had been honorable, Brutus would
not have refused to engage in it. Cassius having con-
sidered these things, determined to pay Brutus the
first visit after the quarrel that had been between
them; and as soon as the compliments of reconciliation
were over, he asked him, 'Whether he intended to
be in the senate on the calends of March; for it was
reported,' he said, 'that Caesar's friends designed to
move that he should be declared king. ' Brutus an-
swered, ' He should not be there;' and Cassius re-
plied,--' But what if they should send for us V--' It
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? 150 PLUTARCH.
would then,' said Brutus, ' be my duty, not only to
speak against it, bat to sacrifice my life for the liberties
of Rome. ' Cassius, encouraged by this, proceeded:--
'But what Roman will bear to see you die? Do not
you know yourself, Brutus? Think you that those
inscriptions you found on your tribunal were placed
there by weavers and victuallers, and not by the first
men in Rome? From other pretors they look for pre-
sents, and shows, and gladiators; but from you they
expect the abolition of tyranny, as a debt which your
family has entailed on you. They are ready to suffer
every thing on your account, if you are really what
you ought, and what they expect you to be. ' After
this he embraced Brutus, and being perfectly recon-
ciled, they retired to their respective friends.
In Pompey's party there was one Quintus Ligarius,
whom Caesar had pardoned, though he had borne arms
against him. This man, less grateful for the pardon
he had received, than offended with the power which
made him stand in need of it, hated Caesar, but was
the intimate friend of Brutus. The latter one day
visited him, and finding him not well, said, 'O Li-
garius, what a time is this to be sick! ' On which he
raised himself on his elbow, and taking Brutus by the
hand, answered, 'If Brutus has any design worthy of
himself, Ligarius is well. ' They now tried the incli-
nations of all they could trust, and took into the con-
spiracy, not only their familiar friends, but such as
they knew to be brave, and above the fear of death:
for this reason, though they had the greatest regard
for Cicero, and the utmost confidence in his principles
as a republican, they concealed the conspiracy from,
him, lest his natural timidity, and the weariness of age,
should retard those measures which required the most
resolute dispatch.
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? MARCUS BRUTUS.
151
Brutus likewise thought proper to leave his friends
Statilius and Favonius, the followers of Cato, out of
the conspiracy. He had tried their sentiments, under
the color of a philosophical dispute; in which Favo-
nius observed, that the worst absolute government was
preferable to a civil war:. and Statilius added, that it
became no wise man to expose himself to fear and
danger on account of the faults and follies of others.
But Labeo, who was present, contradicted both. And
Brutus, though he was then silent, as if the dispute
had been difficult to determine, afterwards communi-
cated the design to Labeo, who readily concurred in
it. It was then agreed to gain over the other Brutus,
surnamed Albinus, who, though not distinguished by
his personal courage, was of consequence, on account
of the great number of gladiators he bred for the pub-
lic shows, and the intire confidence that Caesar placed
in him. To the solicitations of Cassius and Labeo he
made no answer; but when he came privately to Bru-
tus, and found that he was at the head of the conspi-
racy, he made no scruple of joining them. The name
of Brutus drew in many more of the most considerable
persons of the state ; and though they had entered into
no oath of secrecy, they kept the design so close, that
notwithstanding the gods themselves denounced the
event, by a variety of prodigies, no one would give
credit to the conspiracy.
Brutus now felt his consequence lie heavy on him.
The safety of some of the greatest men in Rome de-
pended on his conduct, and he could not think of the
danger they were to encounter without anxiety. In
public, indeed, he suppressed his uneasiness: but at
home, and especially by night, he was not the same
man. Sometimes he would start from his sleep; at
others, he was totally immersed in thought: from
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? 152 PLUTARCH.
which, and the like circumstances, it was obvious to
his wife that he was revolving in his mind some diffi-
cult and dangerous enterprise. Porcia, as we before
observed, was the daughter of Cato. She was married
to her cousin Brutus very young, though she was a
widow, and had a son, named Bibulus, after his father.
There is a small tract of his still extant, called ' Me-
moirs of Brutus. ' Porcia added to the affection of a
wife the prudence of a woman who was not unac-
quainted with philosophy; and she resolved not to in-
quire into her husband's secrets before she had made
the following trial of her own firmness. She ordered
all her attendants out of her apartment, and, with a
small knife, gave herself a deep wound in the thigh.
This occasioned a great effusion of blood, extreme pain,
and a fever in consequence of that pain. Brutus was
extremely afflicted for her, and as he attended her, in
the height of her pain, she thus spoke to him: 'Bru-
tus, when you married the daughter of Cato you did
not, I presume, consider her merely as a female com-
panion, but as the partner of your fortunes. You, in-
deed, have given me no reason to repent my marriage:
but what proof, either of affection or fidelity, can you
receive from me, if I may neither share in your secret
griefs, nor in your secret councils? I am sensible that
secrecy is not the characteristic virtue of my sex: but
surely our natural weakness may be strengthened by a
virtuous education, and by honorable connexions; and
Porcia can boast that she is the daughter of Cato, and
the wife of Brutus. Yet even in these distinctions I
placed no absolute confidence till I tried, and found
that I was proof against pain. ' When she had said
this she showed him her wound, and informed him of
her motives: on which Brutus was so struck with her
magnanimity that, with lifted hands, he intreated the
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? MARCUS BRUTUS.
153
gods to favor his enterprise, and enable him to approve
himself worthy of Porcia. He then took every means
to cure her wound, and restore her health.
A meeting of the senate being appointed, at which
Caesar was expected to attend, that was thought a pro-
per time for the execution of their design; for then
they could not only appear together without suspicion,
but as some of the most considerable persons in the
commonwealth would be present, they flattered them-
selves that, as soon as the deed was done, they would
join in asserting the common liberty. The place too
where the senate was to meet seemed providentially
favorable for their purpose. It was a portico adjoining
to the theatre, and in the midst of a saloon, furnished,
with benches, stood a statue of Pompey, which had
been erected to him by the commonwealth when he
adorned that part of the city with those buildings.
Here the senate was convened on the ides of March;
and it seemed as if some god should bring Caesar to
this place to revenge on him the death of Pompey.
When the day came, Brutus went out, and took
with him a dagger; which last circumstance was known
only to his wife. The rest met at the house of Cassius,
and conducted his son, who was that day to put on the
toga virilis, to the forum: from whence they proceeded
to Pompey's portico, and waited for Caesar. Any one
that had been privy to the design of the conspirators
would here have been astonished at their calm and con-
sistent firmness. Many of them were pretors, and ob-
liged by their office to hear and determine causes.
These they heard with so much calmness, and decided
with so much accuracy, that one could not have sup-
posed there had been any thing else on their minds;
and when a certain person appealed from the judgment
of Brutus to Caesar, Brutus, looking round on the as-
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? 164
PLUTARCH.
sembly, said, ' Caesar neither does, nor shall hinder me
from acting agreeably to the laws. ' Nevertheless they
were disturbed by many accidents. Though the day
was far spent, still Caesar did not come, being detained
by his wife and the soothsayers, on account of defects
in the sacrifices. In the mean time a person came up
to Casca, one of the conspirators, and taking him by
the hand, 'You concealed the thing from me,' said he,
'but Brutus has told me all. ' Casca expressed his
surprise; on which the other said, laughing, 'How
came you to be so rich on a sudden, as to stand for the
edileship V so near was the great secret being blown by
the ambiguity of this man's discourse! At the same
time Popilius Laena, a senator, after saluting Brutus
and Cassius in a very obliging manner, said, in a
whisper, 'My best wishes are with you: but make
no delay; for it is now no secret. ' After saying this,
he immediately went away, and left them in great con-
sternation; for they concluded that every thing was
discovered. Soon after this a messenger came running
from Brntus' house, and told him that his wife was
dying. Porcia had been under extreme anxiety, and
in great agitations about the event. At every little
noise or voice she heard she started up and ran to the
door, like one of the frantic priestesses of Bacchus, in-
quiring of every one that came from the forum what
Brutus was doing. She sent messenger after messenger
to make the same inquiries; and being unable any
longer to support the agitations of her mind, she at
length fainted away. She had not time to retire to her
chamber. As she sat in the middle of the house, her
spirits failed, her color changed, and she lost her senses
and her speech. Her women shrieked, the neighbors
ran to their assistance, and a report was soon spread
through the city that Porcia was dead. However, by
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? MARCUS BRUTUS.
155
the care of those that were about her, she recovered
in a little time. Brutus was greatly distressed with
the news, and not without reason; but his private
grief gave way to the public concern; for it was now-
reported that Caesar was coming on a litter. The ill
omen of his sacrifices had deterred him from entering
on business of importance, and be proposed to defer it
under a pretence of indisposition. As soon as he came
out of the litter Popilius Liena, who a little before had
wished Brutus success, went up, and spoke to him for
a considerable time, Caesar all the while standing, and
seeming very attentive. The conspirators not being
able to hear what he said, suspected, from what passed
between him and Brutus, that he was now making a
discovery of their design. This disconcerted them ex-
tremely, and looking on each other, they agreed, by
the silent language of the countenance, that they should
not stay to be taken, but despatch themselves. With
this intent Cassius and some others were just about to
draw their daggers from under their robes, when Bru-
tus observing from the looks and gestures of Liena
that he was petitioning, and not accusing, encouraged
Cassius by the cheerfulness of his countenance. This
was the only way by which he could communicate
his sentiments, being surrounded by many who were
strangers to the conspiracy. Liena, after a little while,
kissed Caesar's hand, and left him; and it plainly ap-
peared, on the whole, that he had been speaking about
his own affairs.
The senate was already seated, and the conspirators
got close about Caesar's chair, under pretence of pre-
ferring a suit to him. Cassius turned his face to Pom-
pey's statue, and invoked it, as if it had been sensible
of his prayers. Trebonius kept Antony in conversation
without the court. And now Caesar entered, and tha
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? 156
PLUTARCH.
whole senate rose to salute him. The conspirator*
crowded around him, and set Tullius Cimber, one of
their number, to solicit the recall of his brother, who
was banished. They all united in the solicitation, took
hold of Caesar's hand, and kissed his head and his
breast. He rejected their applications, and finding
that they would not desist, at length rose from his seat
in anger. Tullius on this laid hold of his robe, and
pulled it from his shoulders. Casca, who stood behind,
gave him the first, though but a slight wound with his
dagger, near the shoulder. Caesar caught the handle
of the dagger, and said in Latin, 'Villain! Casca!
what dost thou mean V Casca, in Greek, called his
brother to his assistance. Caesar was wounded by num-
bers almost at the same instant, and looked round him
for some way to escape; but when he saw the dagger
of Brutus pointed against him, he let go Casca's hand,
and covering his head with his robe, resigned himself
to their swords. The conspirators pressed so eagerly
to stab him, that they wounded each other. Brutus, in
attempting to have his share in the sacrifice, received a
wound in his hand, and all of them were covered with
blood.
Caesar thus slain, Brutus stepped forward into the
middle of the senate-house, and proposing to make a
speech, desired the senators to stay. They fled, how-
ever, with the utmost precipitation, though no one
pursued; for the conspirators had no design on any
life but Caesar's; and, that taken away, they invited
the rest to liberty.
