Yet in this un-
suspected state he was privately preparing for war.
suspected state he was privately preparing for war.
Plutarch - Lives - v7
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. Indeed, all but Brutus were of
opinion that Antony should fall with Caesar. They
considered him as an insolent man, who in his princi-
ples favored monarchy, and who had made himself
popular in the army. Moreover, besides his natural
disposition to despotism, he had at this time the consu-
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? MARCUS BRUTUS.
157
lar power, and was the colleague of Caesar. Brutus,
on the other hand, alleged the injustice of such a mea-
sure, and suggested the possibility of Antony's change
of principle. He thought it far from being improbable
that, after the destruction of Caesar, a man so passion-
ately fond of glory should be inspired by an emulation
to join in restoring the commonwealth. Thus Antony
was saved; though, in the general consternation, he
fled, in the disguise of a plebeian. Brutus and his
party betook themselves to the capitol; and showing
their bloody hands and naked swords, proclaimed li-
berty to the people as they passed. At first all was
lamentation, distraction, and tumult: but as no farther
violence was committed, the senators and the people
recovered their apprehensions, and went in a body to
the conspirators in the capitol. Brutus made a popular
speech adapted to the occasion; and this being well
received, the conspirators were encouraged to come
down into the forum. The rest were undistinguished:
but persons of the first quality attended Brutus, con-
ducted him with great honor from the capitol, and
placed him in the rostrum. At the sight of Brutus
the populace, though disposed to tumult, were struck
with reverence; and when he began to speak, they at-
tended with silence. It soon appeared, however, that
it was not the action, but the man, they respected; for
when Cinna spoke, and accused Caesar, they loaded
him with the most opprobrious language; and became
so outrageous, that the conspirators thought proper
once more to retire into the capitol. Brutus now ex-
pected to be besieged, and therefore dismissed the
principal people that attended him, because he thought
it unreasonable that they who had no concern in the
action should be exposed to the danger that followed
it. Next day the senate assembled in the temple of
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PLUTARCH.
Tellus, and Antony, Plancus, and Cicero, in their re-
spective speeches, persuaded and prevailed on the peo-
ple to forget what had passed. Accordingly, the con-
spirators were not only pardoned, but it was decreed
that the consuls should take into consideration what
honors and dignities were proper to be conferred on
them. After this the senate broke up; and Antony,
having sent his son as an hostage to the capitol, Brutus
and his party came down, and mutual compliments
passed between them. Cassius was invited to sup with
Antony, Brutus with Lepidus, and the rest were enter-
tained by their respective friends.
Early next morning the senate assembled again, and
voted thanks to Antony for preventing a civil war, as
well as to Brutus and his party for their services to the
commonwealth. The latter had also provinces distri-
buted amongst them. Crete was allotted to Brutus,
Africa to Cassius, Asia toTrebonius, Bithynia to Cim-
ber, and the other Brutus had that part of Gaul which
lies on the Po.
Caesar's will and his funeral came next in question.
Antony proposed that the will should be read in pub-
lic, and that the funeral should not be private, or
without proper magnificence, lest such treatment should
exasperate the people. Cassius strongly opposed this;
but Brutus agreed to it; and here he fell into a second
error. His preservation of so formidable an enemy as
Antony was a mistaken thing; but his giving up the
management of Caesar's funeral to him was an irre-
parable fault. The publication of the will had an im-
mediate tendency to inspire the people with a passion-
ate regret for the death of Caesar; for he had left to
each Roman citizen seventy-five drachmas, besides the
public use of his gardens beyond the Tiber, where now
the temple of Fortune stands. When the body was
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? MARCUS BRUTUS. 159
brought into the forum, and Antony spoke the usual
funeral eulogium, as he perceived the people affected
by his speech, he endeavored still more to work on
their passions, by unfolding the bloody garment of Cre-
sar, showing thein in how many places it was pierced,
and pointing out the number of his wounds. This
threw every thing into confusion. Some called aloud
to kill the murderers; others, as was formerly done in
the case of that seditious demagogue Clodius, snatched
the benches and tables from the neighboring shops,
and erected a pile for the body of Ca? sar in the midst
? of consecrated places and surrounding temples. As
soon as the pile was in flames, the people, crowding
from all parts, snatched the half-burnt brands, and ran
round the city to fire the houses of the conspirators;
but they were on their guard against such an assault,
and prevented the effects.
There was a poet named Cinna, who had no concern
in the conspiracy, but was rather a friend of Caesar's.
This man dreamt that Caesar invited him to supper;
and that, when he declined the invitation, he took him
by the hand, and constrained him to follow him into a
dark and deep place, which he entered with the utmost
horror. The agitation of his spirits threw him into a
fever, which lasted the remaining part of the night.
In the morning, however, when Caesar was to be in-
terred, he was ashamed of absenting himself from the
solemnity: he therefore mingled with the multitude
that had just been enraged by the speech of Antony;
and being unfortunately mistaken for that Cinna who
had before inveighed against Caesar, he was torn to
pieces. This, more than any thing, except Antony's
change of conduct, alarmed Brutus and his party.
They now thought it necessary to consult their safety,
and retired to Antium. Here they sat down, with an
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? 160 PLUTARCH.
intent to return as soon as the popular fury should
subside; and for this, considering the inconstancy of
the multitude, they concluded that they should not
have long to wait. The senate moreover was in their
interest; and though they did not punish the mur-
derers of Cinna, they caused strict inquiry to be made
after those who attempted to burn the houses of the
conspirators. Antony, too, became obnoxious to the
people; for they suspected him of erecting another
kind of monarchy. The return of Brutus was conse-
quently wished for; and, as he was to exhibit shows
and games in his capacity as pretor, it was expected.
Brutus however had received intelligence that several
of Caesar's old soldiers, to whom he had distributed
lands and colonies, had stolen, by small parties, into
Rome, and that they lay in wait for him; he therefore
did not think proper to come himself; notwithstanding
which, the shows that were exhibited on his account
were extremely magnificent; for he had bought a con-
siderable number of wild beasts, and ordered that they
should all be reserved for that purpose. He went
himself as far as Naples to collect a number of come-
dians; and being informed of one Canutius, who was
much admired on the stage, he desired his friends to
use all their interest to bring him to Rome. Canutius
was a Grecian, and Brutus therefore thought that no
compulsion should be used. He wrote likewise to Ci-
cero, and begged that he would by all means be pre-
sent at the public shows.
Such was the situation of his affairs when, on the ar-
rival of Octavius at Rome, things took another turn.
He was son to the sister of Caesar, who had adopted
and appointed him his heir. He was pursuing his stu-
dies at Apollonia, and in expectation of meeting Caesar
there on his intended expedition against the Parthians,
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? MARCUS BRUTUS.
1G1
at the time when Caesar was slain. On hearing of this
event he immediately came to Rome, and, to ingratiate
himself with the people, assumed the name of Caesar.
By punctually distributing amongst the citizens the
money that was left them by his uncle, he soon took
the lead of Antony; and, by his liberality to the sol-
diers, he brought over to his party the greatest number
of those who had served under Caesar. Cicero, like-
wise, who hated Antony, joined his interest: and this
was so much resented by Brutus, that, in his letters, he
reproached him in the severest terms. 'He perceived,'
he said, 'that Cicero was tame enough to bear a ty-
rant, and was only afraid of the tyrant that hated him;
that his compliments to Octavius were meant to pur-
chase an easy slavery: but our ancestors,' said Brutus,
'scorned to bear even a gentle master. ' He added,
that 'as to the measures of peace, or war, he was un-
determined; but in one thing he was resolved, which
was, never to be a slave! ' He expressed his surprise
'that Cicero should prefer an infamous accommodation
even to the dangers of civil war; and that the only
fruits he expected from destroying the tyranny of An-
tony should be the establishment of a new tyrant in
Octavius. ' Such was the spirit of his first letters.
The city was now divided into two factions: some
joined Caesar, others remained with Antony, and the
army was sold to the best bidder. Brutus, of course,
despaired of any desirable event; and being resolved
to leave Italy, he went by land to Lucania, and came
to the maritime town of Elea. Porcia, being to return
from thence to Rome, endeavored, as well as possible,
to conceal the sorrow that oppressed her; but, not-
withstanding her magnanimity, a picture which she
found there betrayed her distress. The subject was
the parting of Hector and Andromache. He was re-
PLUT. VoL. VII. L
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? 162
PLUTARCH.
presented delivering his son, Astyanax, into her arms,
and the eyes of Andromache were fixed on him. The
resemblance that this picture bore to her own distress
made her burst into tears the moment she beheld it;
and several times she visited the melancholy emblem,
to gaze on it, and weep before it. On this occasion
Acilies, one of Brutus' friends, repeated that passage
in Homer where Andromache says,
Yet while my Hector still survives, I see
My father, mother, brethren, all in thee.
To which Brutus replied, with a smile, 'But I must
not answer Porcia as Hector did Andromache:
Hasten to thy tasks at home,
There guide the spindle and direct the loom.
She has not personal strength, indeed, to sustain the
toils we undergo, but her spirit is not less active in the
cause of her country. ' This anecdote we have from
Bibulus, the son of Porcia.
From Elea, Brutus sailed for Athens, where he was
received with high applause, and invested with public
honors. There he took up his residence with a parti-
cular friend, and attended the lectures of Theomnestus
the academic, and Cratippus the peripatetic, devoting
himself wholly to literary pursuits.
Yet in this un-
suspected state he was privately preparing for war.
He despatched Herostratus into Macedonia to gain the
principal officers in that province; and he secured by
his kindness all the young Romans who were then
students at Athens. Amongst these was the son of
Cicero, on whom he bestowed the highest encomiums,
and said, that he could never cease admiring the spirit
of that young man, who bore such a mortal hatred to
tyrants.
At length he began to act more publicly; and being
informed that some of the Roman ships, laden with
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? MARCUS BRUTUS.
163
money, were returning from Asia, under the command
of a man of honor, a friend of his, he met him at Ca-
rystus, a city of Euboea. There he had a conference
with him, and requested that he would give up the
ships. By the bye, it happened to be Brutus' birth-
day, on which occasion he gave a splendid entertain-
ment; and while they were drinking ' Victory to Bru-
tus,' and 'Liberty to Rome,' to encourage the cause,
he called for a larger bowl. While he held it in his
hand, without any visible relation to the subject they
were on, he pronounced this verse:
My fall was doom'd by Phoebus and by Fate.
Some historians say that 'Apollo' was the word he
gave his soldiers in the last battle at Philippi; and, of
course, conclude that this exclamation was a presage
of his defeat. Antistius, the commander of the ships,
gave him five hundred thousand drachmas of the mo-
ney he was carrying to Italy. The remains of Pom-
pey's army that were scattered about Thessaly readily
joined his standard; and, besides these, he took five
hundred horse, whom Cinna was conducting to Dola-
bella in Asia. He then sailed to Demetrias, and seized
a large quantity of arms, which Julius Caesar had pro-
vided for the Parthian war, and which were now to be
sent to Antony. Macedonia was delivered up to him
by Hortensius the pretor; and all the neighboring
princes readily offered their assistance. When news
was received that Caius, the brother of Antony, had
marched through Italy, to join the forces under Gabi-
nius in Dyrrachium and Apollonia, Brutus determined
to seize them before he arrived, and made a forced
march with such troops as were at hand. The way
was rugged, and the snows were deep; but he moved
with such expedition, that his suttlers were left a lony
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PLUTARCH.
way behind. When he had almost reached Dyrra-
chium he was seized with the disorder called bulimia,
or violent hunger, occasioned by cold and fatigue.
This disorder affects both men and cattle, after fatigues
in the snow. Whether it is that, perspiration being
prevented by the extreme cold, the vital heat is con-
fined, and more immediately consumes the aliment, or
that a keen and subtle vapor rising from the melted
snow penetrates the body, and destroys the heat by
expelling it through the pores; for the sweatings seem
to arise from the heat contending with the cold, which
being repelled by the latter, the vapory steam is dif-
fused over the surface of the body. But of this I have
treated more largely in another place. Brutus grow-
ing very faint, and no provisions being at hand, his
servants were forced to go to the gates of the enemy,
and beg bread of the sentinels. When they were in-,
formed of the distress of Brutus, they brought him
meat and drink in their own hands; and in return for
their humanity, when he had taken the city, he showed
kindness both to them and to the rest of the inha-
bitants.
When Caius arrived in Apollonia, he summoned the
soldiers that were quartered near the city to join him;
but finding that they were all with Brutus, and sus-
pecting that those in Apollonia favored the same party,
he went to Buthrotus. Brutus however found means
to destroy three of his cohorts in their march. Caius,
after this, attempted to seize some posts near Byllis,
but was routed in a set battle by young Cicero, to
whom Brutus had given the command of the army on
that occasion, and whose conduct he made use of fre-
quently, and with success. Caius was soon after sur-
prised in a marsh, from whence he had no means to
escape; and Brutus finding him in his power, sur-
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? MARCUS BRUTUS.
165
rounded him with his cavalry, and gave orders that
none of his men should be killed; for he expected that
they would quickly join him of their own accord. As
he expected, it came to pass. They surrendered both
themselves and their general; so that Brutus had now
a very respectable army. He treated Caius for a long
time with all possible respect; nor did he divest him
of any ensigns of dignity that he bore, though, it is
said, that he received letters from several persons at
Rome, and particularly from Cicero, advising him to
put him to death. At length, however, when he found
that he was secretly practising with his officers, and
exciting seditions amongst the soldiers, he put him on
board a ship, and kept him close prisoner. The sol-
diers that he had corrupted retired into Apollonia,
from whence they sent to Brutus, that if he would
come to them there, they would return to their duty.
Brutus answered, 'that this was not the custom of the
Romans, but that those who had offended should come
in person to their general, and solicit his forgiveness. '
This they did, and were accordingly pardoned.
He was now preparing to go into Asia, when he was
informed of a change in affairs at Rome. Young Ca? sar,
supported by the senate, had got the better of Antony,
and driven him out of Italy; but, at the same time, he
began to be no less formidable himself; for he solicited
the consulship contrary to law, and kept in pay an un-
necessary army. Consequently the senate, though thev
at first supported, were now dissatisfied with his mea-
sures: and as they began to cast their eyes on Brutus,
and decreed or confirmed several provinces to him,
Caesar was under some apprehensions. He therefore
despatched messengers to Antony, and desired that a
reconciliation might take place. After this he drew up
bis army around the city, and carried the consulship,
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PLUTARCH.
though but a boy, in his twentieth year, as he tells us
in his Commentaries. He was no sooner consul than
he ordered a judicial process to issue against Brutus
and his accomplices, for murdering the first magistrate
in Rome without trial, or condemnation. Lucius Cor-
nificius was appointed to accuse Brutus, and Marcus
Agrippa accused Cassius; neither of whom appearing,
the judges were obliged to pass sentence against both.
It Is said that when the crier, as usual, cited Brutus
to appear the people could not suppress their sighs;
and persons of the first distinction heard it in silent
dejection. Publius Silicius was observed to burst into
tears; and this was the cause why he was afterwards
proscribed. The triumviri, Caesar, Antony and Lepi-
dus, being now reconciled, divided the provinces
amongst them, and settled that list of murder, in which
two hundred citizens, and Cicero amongst the rest,
were proscribed.
When the report of these proceedings was brought
into Macedonia, Brutus found himself under a neces-
sity of sending orders to Hortensius to kill Caius, the
brother of Antony, in revenge of the death of Cicero
his friend, and Brutus Albinus his kinsman, who was
slain. This was the reason why Antony, when he had
taken Hortensius at the battle of Philippi, slew him on
his brother's tomb. Brutus says that he was more
ashamed of the cause of Cicero's death than grieved
at the event; while he saw Rome enslaved more by
her own fault, than by the fault of her tyrants, and
continue a tame spectator of such scenes as ought not
to have been heard of without horror.
The army of Brutus was now considerable, and he
ordered its route into Asia, while a fleet was preparing
in Bithynia and at Cyzicum. As he marched by land,
he settled the affairs of the cities, and gave audience to
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? MARCUS BRUTUS.
the princes of those countries through which he passed.
He sent orders to Cassius, who was in Syria, to give
up his intended journey into Egypt, and join him. Ou
this occasion he tells him that their collecting forces
to destroy the tyrants was not to secure an empire to
themselves, but to deliver their fellow-citizens; that
they should never forget this great object of their un-
dertaking, hut, adhering to their first intentions, keep
Italy within their eye, and hasten to rescue their coun-
try from oppression.
Cassius, accordingly, set out to join him, and Brutus
at the same time making some progress to meet him,
their interview was at Smyrna. Till this meeting, they
had not seen each other since they parted at the Piraeus
of Athens, when Cassius set out for Syria, and Brutus
for Macedonia. The forces they had respectively col-
lected gave them great joy, and made them confident
of success. From Italy they had fled, like solitary
exiles, without money, without arms, without a ship,
a soldier, or a town to fly to. Yet now, in so short a
time, they found themselves supplied with shipping
and money, with an army of horse and foot, and in a
condition of contending for the empire of Rome.
Cassius was no less respectful to Brutus, than Brutus
was to him; but the latter would generally wait on
him, as he was the older man, and of a feebler consti-
tution. Cassius was esteemed an able soldier, but of
a fiery disposition, and ambitious to command rather
by fear than affection: though, at the same time, with
his familiar acquaintance he was easy in his manners,
and fond of raillery to excess. Brutus, on account of
his virtue, was respected by the people, beloved by his
friends, admired by men of principle, and not hated
even by bis enemies. He was mild in his temper, and
had a greatness of mind that was superior to anger,
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? PLUTARCH.
avarice, and the love of pleasure. He was firm and
inflexible in his opinions, and zealous in every pursuit,
where justice or honor were concerned. The people
had the highest opinion of his integrity and sincerity
in every undertaking, and this naturally inspired them
with confidence and affection. Even Pompey the Great
had hardly ever so much credit with them: for who
ever imagined, that if he had conquered Caesar, he
would have submitted to the laws, and would not have
retained his power under the title of consul or dictator,
or some more specious and popular name? Cassius,
on the contrary, a man of violent passions, and rapa-
cious avarice, was suspected of exposing himself to
toil and danger, rather from a thirst of power than an
attachment to the liberties of his country. The former
disturbers of the commonwealth, Cinna, and Marius,
and Carbo, evidently set their country as a stake for
the winner, and hardly scrupled to own that they
fought for empire. But the very enemies of Brutus
never charge him with this. Even Antony has been
heard to say that Brutus was the only conspirator who
had the sense of honor and justice for his motive, and
that the rest were wholly actuated by malice or envy.
It is clear too, from what Brutus himself says, that he
finally and principally relied on his own virtue. Thus
he writes to Atticus immediately before an engage-
ment 'That his affairs were in the most desirable
situation imaginable; for that either he should con-
quer, and restore liberty to Rome, or die, and be free
from slavery; that every thing else was reduced to
certainty; and that this only remained a question,
whether they should live or die free men? ' He adds,
that 'Mark Antony was properly punished for his folly;
who, when he might have ranked with the Bruti, the
Cassii, and Catos, chose rather to be the underling of
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? MARCUS BRUTUS. ' 169
Octaviua; and that if he did not fall in the approach-
ing battle, they would very soon be at variance with
each otherin which he seems to have been a true
prophet.
? Whilst they were at Smyrna, Brutus desired Cassius
to let him have part of the vast treasure he had col-
lected, because his own was chiefly expended in equip-
ping a fleet, to gain superiority at sea. But the friends
of Cassius advised him against this; alleging that it
would be absurd to give Brutus that money which he
had saved with so much frugality, and acquired with
so much envy, merely that Brutus might increase his
popularity by distributing it amongst the soldiers.
Cassius, however, gave him a third of what he had,
and then they parted for their respective commands.
Cassius behaved with great severity on the taking of
Rhodes: though when he first entered the city, and
was saluted with the title of king and master, he an-
swered, 'That he was neither their king nor their mas-
ter, but the destroyer of him who would have been
both. ' Brutus demanded supplies of men and money
from the Lycians; but Naucrates, an orator, persuaded
the cities to rebel, and some of the inhabitants posted
themselves on the hills with an intent to oppose the
passage of Brutus. Brutus, at first, despatched a party
of horse, which surprised them at dinner, and killed
six hundred of them. But afterwards, when he had
taken the adjacent towns and villages, he gave up the
prisoners without ransom, and hoped to gain them to
his party by clemency. Their former sufferings, how-
ever, made them reject his humanity; and those that
still resisted being driven into the city of Xanthus,
were there besieged. As a river ran close by the
town, several attempted to escape by swimming and
diving; but they were prevented by nets let down for
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? 170
PLUTARCH.
that purpose, which had little bells at the top, to give
notice when any one was taken. The Xanthians after-
wards made a sally in the night, and set fire to several
of the battering engines; but they were perceived and
driven back by the Romans: at the same time the vio-
lence of the winds drove the flames on the city, so that
several houses near the battlements took fire. Brutus
being apprehensive that the whole city would be de-
stroyed, sent his own soldiers to assist the inhabitants
in quenching the fire. But the Lycians were seized
with an incredible despair, a kind of frensy, which can
no otherwise be described than by calling it a pas-
sionate desire of death. Women and children, free-
men and slaves, people of all ages and conditions,
strove to repulse the soldiers as they came to their
assistance from the walls. With their own hands they
collected wood and reeds, and all manner of combus-
tibles, to spread the fire over the city, and encouraged
its progress by every means in their power. Thus
assisted, the flames flew over the whole with dreadful
rapidity; whilst Brutus, extremely shocked at this
calamity, rode round the walls, and stretching forth
his hands to the inhabitants, intreated tbem to spare
themselves and their city. Regardless of his intrea-
ties, they sought by every means to put an end to their
lives. Men, women, and even children, with hideous
cries, leaped into the flames. Some threw themselves
headlong from the walls, and others fell on the swords
of their parents, opening their breasts, and begging to
be slain.
When the city was in a great measure reduced to
ashes, a woman was found who had hanged herself,
with her young child fastened to her neck, and the
torch in her hand, with which she had fired her house.
This deplorable object so much affected Brutus, that
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? MARCUS BRUTUS.
171
he wept when he was told of it, and proclaimed a re-
ward to any soldier who could save a Xanthian. It is
said that no more than a hundred and fifty were pre-
served, and those against their will. Thus the Xan-
thians, as if fate had appointed certain periods for their
destruction, after a long course of years, sunk into that
deplorable ruin, in. which the same rash despair had in-
volved their ancestors in the Persian war: for they too
burned their city, and destroyed themselves.
After this, when the Patareans likewise made resist-
ance, Brutus was under great anxiety whether he should
besiege them; for he was afraid they would follow the
desperate measures of the Xanthians. However, having
some of their women whom he had taken prisoners, he
dismissed them without ransom; and those returning
to their husbands and parents, who happened to be peo-
ple of the first distinction, so much extolled the justice
and moderation of Brutus, that they prevailed on them
to submit, and put their city in his hands. The adja-
cent cities followed their example, and found that his
humanity exceeded their hopes. Cassius compelled
every Rhodian to give up all the gold and silver in his
possession, by which he amassed eight thousand talents;
and yet he laid the public under a fine of five hundred
talents more ; but Brutus took only a hundred and fifty
talents of the Lycians, and, without doing them any
other injury, led his army into Ionia.
Brutus, in the course of this expedition, did many
acts of justice, and was vigilant in the dispensation of
rewards and punishments. An instance of this I shall
relate, because both he himself, and every honest Ro-
man, was particularly pleased with it. When Pompey
the Great, after his overthrow at Pharsalia, fled into
Egypt, and landed near Pelusium, the tutors and mi-
nisters of young Ptolemy consulted what measures
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? 172
PLUTARCH.
they should take on the occasion. But they were of
different opinions. Some were for receiving him, others
for excluding him out of Egypt. Theodotus, a Chian
by birth, and a teacher of rhetoric by profession, who
then attended the king in that capacity, was, for want
of abler ministers, admitted to the council. This man
insisted that both were in the wrong--those who were
for receiving, and those who were for expelling Pom-
pey. The best measure they could take, he said, would
be to put him to death; and concluded his speech with
the proverb that' dead men do not bite. ' The council
entered into his opinion; and Pompey the Great, an
example of the incredible mutability of fortune, fell a
sacrifice to the arguments of a sophist, as that sophist
lived afterwards to boast. Not long after, on Caesar's
arrival in Egypt, some of the murderers received their
proper reward, and were put to death; but Theodotus
made his escape. Yet, though for a while he gained
from fortune the poor privilege of a wandering and
despicable life, he fell at last into the hands of Brutus,
as he was passing through Asia; and by paying the
forfeit of his baseness, became more memorable from
his death than from any thing in his life.
About this time Brutus sent for Cassius to Sardis,
and went with his friends to meet him. The whole
army being drawn up, saluted both the leaders with
the title of imperator. But, as it usually happens in
great affairs, where many friends and many officers are
engaged, mutual complaints and suspicions arose be-
tween Brutus and Cassius. To settle these more pro-
perly, they retired into an apartment by themselves.
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. Indeed, all but Brutus were of
opinion that Antony should fall with Caesar. They
considered him as an insolent man, who in his princi-
ples favored monarchy, and who had made himself
popular in the army. Moreover, besides his natural
disposition to despotism, he had at this time the consu-
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? MARCUS BRUTUS.
157
lar power, and was the colleague of Caesar. Brutus,
on the other hand, alleged the injustice of such a mea-
sure, and suggested the possibility of Antony's change
of principle. He thought it far from being improbable
that, after the destruction of Caesar, a man so passion-
ately fond of glory should be inspired by an emulation
to join in restoring the commonwealth. Thus Antony
was saved; though, in the general consternation, he
fled, in the disguise of a plebeian. Brutus and his
party betook themselves to the capitol; and showing
their bloody hands and naked swords, proclaimed li-
berty to the people as they passed. At first all was
lamentation, distraction, and tumult: but as no farther
violence was committed, the senators and the people
recovered their apprehensions, and went in a body to
the conspirators in the capitol. Brutus made a popular
speech adapted to the occasion; and this being well
received, the conspirators were encouraged to come
down into the forum. The rest were undistinguished:
but persons of the first quality attended Brutus, con-
ducted him with great honor from the capitol, and
placed him in the rostrum. At the sight of Brutus
the populace, though disposed to tumult, were struck
with reverence; and when he began to speak, they at-
tended with silence. It soon appeared, however, that
it was not the action, but the man, they respected; for
when Cinna spoke, and accused Caesar, they loaded
him with the most opprobrious language; and became
so outrageous, that the conspirators thought proper
once more to retire into the capitol. Brutus now ex-
pected to be besieged, and therefore dismissed the
principal people that attended him, because he thought
it unreasonable that they who had no concern in the
action should be exposed to the danger that followed
it. Next day the senate assembled in the temple of
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? 158
PLUTARCH.
Tellus, and Antony, Plancus, and Cicero, in their re-
spective speeches, persuaded and prevailed on the peo-
ple to forget what had passed. Accordingly, the con-
spirators were not only pardoned, but it was decreed
that the consuls should take into consideration what
honors and dignities were proper to be conferred on
them. After this the senate broke up; and Antony,
having sent his son as an hostage to the capitol, Brutus
and his party came down, and mutual compliments
passed between them. Cassius was invited to sup with
Antony, Brutus with Lepidus, and the rest were enter-
tained by their respective friends.
Early next morning the senate assembled again, and
voted thanks to Antony for preventing a civil war, as
well as to Brutus and his party for their services to the
commonwealth. The latter had also provinces distri-
buted amongst them. Crete was allotted to Brutus,
Africa to Cassius, Asia toTrebonius, Bithynia to Cim-
ber, and the other Brutus had that part of Gaul which
lies on the Po.
Caesar's will and his funeral came next in question.
Antony proposed that the will should be read in pub-
lic, and that the funeral should not be private, or
without proper magnificence, lest such treatment should
exasperate the people. Cassius strongly opposed this;
but Brutus agreed to it; and here he fell into a second
error. His preservation of so formidable an enemy as
Antony was a mistaken thing; but his giving up the
management of Caesar's funeral to him was an irre-
parable fault. The publication of the will had an im-
mediate tendency to inspire the people with a passion-
ate regret for the death of Caesar; for he had left to
each Roman citizen seventy-five drachmas, besides the
public use of his gardens beyond the Tiber, where now
the temple of Fortune stands. When the body was
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? MARCUS BRUTUS. 159
brought into the forum, and Antony spoke the usual
funeral eulogium, as he perceived the people affected
by his speech, he endeavored still more to work on
their passions, by unfolding the bloody garment of Cre-
sar, showing thein in how many places it was pierced,
and pointing out the number of his wounds. This
threw every thing into confusion. Some called aloud
to kill the murderers; others, as was formerly done in
the case of that seditious demagogue Clodius, snatched
the benches and tables from the neighboring shops,
and erected a pile for the body of Ca? sar in the midst
? of consecrated places and surrounding temples. As
soon as the pile was in flames, the people, crowding
from all parts, snatched the half-burnt brands, and ran
round the city to fire the houses of the conspirators;
but they were on their guard against such an assault,
and prevented the effects.
There was a poet named Cinna, who had no concern
in the conspiracy, but was rather a friend of Caesar's.
This man dreamt that Caesar invited him to supper;
and that, when he declined the invitation, he took him
by the hand, and constrained him to follow him into a
dark and deep place, which he entered with the utmost
horror. The agitation of his spirits threw him into a
fever, which lasted the remaining part of the night.
In the morning, however, when Caesar was to be in-
terred, he was ashamed of absenting himself from the
solemnity: he therefore mingled with the multitude
that had just been enraged by the speech of Antony;
and being unfortunately mistaken for that Cinna who
had before inveighed against Caesar, he was torn to
pieces. This, more than any thing, except Antony's
change of conduct, alarmed Brutus and his party.
They now thought it necessary to consult their safety,
and retired to Antium. Here they sat down, with an
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? 160 PLUTARCH.
intent to return as soon as the popular fury should
subside; and for this, considering the inconstancy of
the multitude, they concluded that they should not
have long to wait. The senate moreover was in their
interest; and though they did not punish the mur-
derers of Cinna, they caused strict inquiry to be made
after those who attempted to burn the houses of the
conspirators. Antony, too, became obnoxious to the
people; for they suspected him of erecting another
kind of monarchy. The return of Brutus was conse-
quently wished for; and, as he was to exhibit shows
and games in his capacity as pretor, it was expected.
Brutus however had received intelligence that several
of Caesar's old soldiers, to whom he had distributed
lands and colonies, had stolen, by small parties, into
Rome, and that they lay in wait for him; he therefore
did not think proper to come himself; notwithstanding
which, the shows that were exhibited on his account
were extremely magnificent; for he had bought a con-
siderable number of wild beasts, and ordered that they
should all be reserved for that purpose. He went
himself as far as Naples to collect a number of come-
dians; and being informed of one Canutius, who was
much admired on the stage, he desired his friends to
use all their interest to bring him to Rome. Canutius
was a Grecian, and Brutus therefore thought that no
compulsion should be used. He wrote likewise to Ci-
cero, and begged that he would by all means be pre-
sent at the public shows.
Such was the situation of his affairs when, on the ar-
rival of Octavius at Rome, things took another turn.
He was son to the sister of Caesar, who had adopted
and appointed him his heir. He was pursuing his stu-
dies at Apollonia, and in expectation of meeting Caesar
there on his intended expedition against the Parthians,
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? MARCUS BRUTUS.
1G1
at the time when Caesar was slain. On hearing of this
event he immediately came to Rome, and, to ingratiate
himself with the people, assumed the name of Caesar.
By punctually distributing amongst the citizens the
money that was left them by his uncle, he soon took
the lead of Antony; and, by his liberality to the sol-
diers, he brought over to his party the greatest number
of those who had served under Caesar. Cicero, like-
wise, who hated Antony, joined his interest: and this
was so much resented by Brutus, that, in his letters, he
reproached him in the severest terms. 'He perceived,'
he said, 'that Cicero was tame enough to bear a ty-
rant, and was only afraid of the tyrant that hated him;
that his compliments to Octavius were meant to pur-
chase an easy slavery: but our ancestors,' said Brutus,
'scorned to bear even a gentle master. ' He added,
that 'as to the measures of peace, or war, he was un-
determined; but in one thing he was resolved, which
was, never to be a slave! ' He expressed his surprise
'that Cicero should prefer an infamous accommodation
even to the dangers of civil war; and that the only
fruits he expected from destroying the tyranny of An-
tony should be the establishment of a new tyrant in
Octavius. ' Such was the spirit of his first letters.
The city was now divided into two factions: some
joined Caesar, others remained with Antony, and the
army was sold to the best bidder. Brutus, of course,
despaired of any desirable event; and being resolved
to leave Italy, he went by land to Lucania, and came
to the maritime town of Elea. Porcia, being to return
from thence to Rome, endeavored, as well as possible,
to conceal the sorrow that oppressed her; but, not-
withstanding her magnanimity, a picture which she
found there betrayed her distress. The subject was
the parting of Hector and Andromache. He was re-
PLUT. VoL. VII. L
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PLUTARCH.
presented delivering his son, Astyanax, into her arms,
and the eyes of Andromache were fixed on him. The
resemblance that this picture bore to her own distress
made her burst into tears the moment she beheld it;
and several times she visited the melancholy emblem,
to gaze on it, and weep before it. On this occasion
Acilies, one of Brutus' friends, repeated that passage
in Homer where Andromache says,
Yet while my Hector still survives, I see
My father, mother, brethren, all in thee.
To which Brutus replied, with a smile, 'But I must
not answer Porcia as Hector did Andromache:
Hasten to thy tasks at home,
There guide the spindle and direct the loom.
She has not personal strength, indeed, to sustain the
toils we undergo, but her spirit is not less active in the
cause of her country. ' This anecdote we have from
Bibulus, the son of Porcia.
From Elea, Brutus sailed for Athens, where he was
received with high applause, and invested with public
honors. There he took up his residence with a parti-
cular friend, and attended the lectures of Theomnestus
the academic, and Cratippus the peripatetic, devoting
himself wholly to literary pursuits.
Yet in this un-
suspected state he was privately preparing for war.
He despatched Herostratus into Macedonia to gain the
principal officers in that province; and he secured by
his kindness all the young Romans who were then
students at Athens. Amongst these was the son of
Cicero, on whom he bestowed the highest encomiums,
and said, that he could never cease admiring the spirit
of that young man, who bore such a mortal hatred to
tyrants.
At length he began to act more publicly; and being
informed that some of the Roman ships, laden with
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? MARCUS BRUTUS.
163
money, were returning from Asia, under the command
of a man of honor, a friend of his, he met him at Ca-
rystus, a city of Euboea. There he had a conference
with him, and requested that he would give up the
ships. By the bye, it happened to be Brutus' birth-
day, on which occasion he gave a splendid entertain-
ment; and while they were drinking ' Victory to Bru-
tus,' and 'Liberty to Rome,' to encourage the cause,
he called for a larger bowl. While he held it in his
hand, without any visible relation to the subject they
were on, he pronounced this verse:
My fall was doom'd by Phoebus and by Fate.
Some historians say that 'Apollo' was the word he
gave his soldiers in the last battle at Philippi; and, of
course, conclude that this exclamation was a presage
of his defeat. Antistius, the commander of the ships,
gave him five hundred thousand drachmas of the mo-
ney he was carrying to Italy. The remains of Pom-
pey's army that were scattered about Thessaly readily
joined his standard; and, besides these, he took five
hundred horse, whom Cinna was conducting to Dola-
bella in Asia. He then sailed to Demetrias, and seized
a large quantity of arms, which Julius Caesar had pro-
vided for the Parthian war, and which were now to be
sent to Antony. Macedonia was delivered up to him
by Hortensius the pretor; and all the neighboring
princes readily offered their assistance. When news
was received that Caius, the brother of Antony, had
marched through Italy, to join the forces under Gabi-
nius in Dyrrachium and Apollonia, Brutus determined
to seize them before he arrived, and made a forced
march with such troops as were at hand. The way
was rugged, and the snows were deep; but he moved
with such expedition, that his suttlers were left a lony
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PLUTARCH.
way behind. When he had almost reached Dyrra-
chium he was seized with the disorder called bulimia,
or violent hunger, occasioned by cold and fatigue.
This disorder affects both men and cattle, after fatigues
in the snow. Whether it is that, perspiration being
prevented by the extreme cold, the vital heat is con-
fined, and more immediately consumes the aliment, or
that a keen and subtle vapor rising from the melted
snow penetrates the body, and destroys the heat by
expelling it through the pores; for the sweatings seem
to arise from the heat contending with the cold, which
being repelled by the latter, the vapory steam is dif-
fused over the surface of the body. But of this I have
treated more largely in another place. Brutus grow-
ing very faint, and no provisions being at hand, his
servants were forced to go to the gates of the enemy,
and beg bread of the sentinels. When they were in-,
formed of the distress of Brutus, they brought him
meat and drink in their own hands; and in return for
their humanity, when he had taken the city, he showed
kindness both to them and to the rest of the inha-
bitants.
When Caius arrived in Apollonia, he summoned the
soldiers that were quartered near the city to join him;
but finding that they were all with Brutus, and sus-
pecting that those in Apollonia favored the same party,
he went to Buthrotus. Brutus however found means
to destroy three of his cohorts in their march. Caius,
after this, attempted to seize some posts near Byllis,
but was routed in a set battle by young Cicero, to
whom Brutus had given the command of the army on
that occasion, and whose conduct he made use of fre-
quently, and with success. Caius was soon after sur-
prised in a marsh, from whence he had no means to
escape; and Brutus finding him in his power, sur-
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? MARCUS BRUTUS.
165
rounded him with his cavalry, and gave orders that
none of his men should be killed; for he expected that
they would quickly join him of their own accord. As
he expected, it came to pass. They surrendered both
themselves and their general; so that Brutus had now
a very respectable army. He treated Caius for a long
time with all possible respect; nor did he divest him
of any ensigns of dignity that he bore, though, it is
said, that he received letters from several persons at
Rome, and particularly from Cicero, advising him to
put him to death. At length, however, when he found
that he was secretly practising with his officers, and
exciting seditions amongst the soldiers, he put him on
board a ship, and kept him close prisoner. The sol-
diers that he had corrupted retired into Apollonia,
from whence they sent to Brutus, that if he would
come to them there, they would return to their duty.
Brutus answered, 'that this was not the custom of the
Romans, but that those who had offended should come
in person to their general, and solicit his forgiveness. '
This they did, and were accordingly pardoned.
He was now preparing to go into Asia, when he was
informed of a change in affairs at Rome. Young Ca? sar,
supported by the senate, had got the better of Antony,
and driven him out of Italy; but, at the same time, he
began to be no less formidable himself; for he solicited
the consulship contrary to law, and kept in pay an un-
necessary army. Consequently the senate, though thev
at first supported, were now dissatisfied with his mea-
sures: and as they began to cast their eyes on Brutus,
and decreed or confirmed several provinces to him,
Caesar was under some apprehensions. He therefore
despatched messengers to Antony, and desired that a
reconciliation might take place. After this he drew up
bis army around the city, and carried the consulship,
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PLUTARCH.
though but a boy, in his twentieth year, as he tells us
in his Commentaries. He was no sooner consul than
he ordered a judicial process to issue against Brutus
and his accomplices, for murdering the first magistrate
in Rome without trial, or condemnation. Lucius Cor-
nificius was appointed to accuse Brutus, and Marcus
Agrippa accused Cassius; neither of whom appearing,
the judges were obliged to pass sentence against both.
It Is said that when the crier, as usual, cited Brutus
to appear the people could not suppress their sighs;
and persons of the first distinction heard it in silent
dejection. Publius Silicius was observed to burst into
tears; and this was the cause why he was afterwards
proscribed. The triumviri, Caesar, Antony and Lepi-
dus, being now reconciled, divided the provinces
amongst them, and settled that list of murder, in which
two hundred citizens, and Cicero amongst the rest,
were proscribed.
When the report of these proceedings was brought
into Macedonia, Brutus found himself under a neces-
sity of sending orders to Hortensius to kill Caius, the
brother of Antony, in revenge of the death of Cicero
his friend, and Brutus Albinus his kinsman, who was
slain. This was the reason why Antony, when he had
taken Hortensius at the battle of Philippi, slew him on
his brother's tomb. Brutus says that he was more
ashamed of the cause of Cicero's death than grieved
at the event; while he saw Rome enslaved more by
her own fault, than by the fault of her tyrants, and
continue a tame spectator of such scenes as ought not
to have been heard of without horror.
The army of Brutus was now considerable, and he
ordered its route into Asia, while a fleet was preparing
in Bithynia and at Cyzicum. As he marched by land,
he settled the affairs of the cities, and gave audience to
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? MARCUS BRUTUS.
the princes of those countries through which he passed.
He sent orders to Cassius, who was in Syria, to give
up his intended journey into Egypt, and join him. Ou
this occasion he tells him that their collecting forces
to destroy the tyrants was not to secure an empire to
themselves, but to deliver their fellow-citizens; that
they should never forget this great object of their un-
dertaking, hut, adhering to their first intentions, keep
Italy within their eye, and hasten to rescue their coun-
try from oppression.
Cassius, accordingly, set out to join him, and Brutus
at the same time making some progress to meet him,
their interview was at Smyrna. Till this meeting, they
had not seen each other since they parted at the Piraeus
of Athens, when Cassius set out for Syria, and Brutus
for Macedonia. The forces they had respectively col-
lected gave them great joy, and made them confident
of success. From Italy they had fled, like solitary
exiles, without money, without arms, without a ship,
a soldier, or a town to fly to. Yet now, in so short a
time, they found themselves supplied with shipping
and money, with an army of horse and foot, and in a
condition of contending for the empire of Rome.
Cassius was no less respectful to Brutus, than Brutus
was to him; but the latter would generally wait on
him, as he was the older man, and of a feebler consti-
tution. Cassius was esteemed an able soldier, but of
a fiery disposition, and ambitious to command rather
by fear than affection: though, at the same time, with
his familiar acquaintance he was easy in his manners,
and fond of raillery to excess. Brutus, on account of
his virtue, was respected by the people, beloved by his
friends, admired by men of principle, and not hated
even by bis enemies. He was mild in his temper, and
had a greatness of mind that was superior to anger,
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? PLUTARCH.
avarice, and the love of pleasure. He was firm and
inflexible in his opinions, and zealous in every pursuit,
where justice or honor were concerned. The people
had the highest opinion of his integrity and sincerity
in every undertaking, and this naturally inspired them
with confidence and affection. Even Pompey the Great
had hardly ever so much credit with them: for who
ever imagined, that if he had conquered Caesar, he
would have submitted to the laws, and would not have
retained his power under the title of consul or dictator,
or some more specious and popular name? Cassius,
on the contrary, a man of violent passions, and rapa-
cious avarice, was suspected of exposing himself to
toil and danger, rather from a thirst of power than an
attachment to the liberties of his country. The former
disturbers of the commonwealth, Cinna, and Marius,
and Carbo, evidently set their country as a stake for
the winner, and hardly scrupled to own that they
fought for empire. But the very enemies of Brutus
never charge him with this. Even Antony has been
heard to say that Brutus was the only conspirator who
had the sense of honor and justice for his motive, and
that the rest were wholly actuated by malice or envy.
It is clear too, from what Brutus himself says, that he
finally and principally relied on his own virtue. Thus
he writes to Atticus immediately before an engage-
ment 'That his affairs were in the most desirable
situation imaginable; for that either he should con-
quer, and restore liberty to Rome, or die, and be free
from slavery; that every thing else was reduced to
certainty; and that this only remained a question,
whether they should live or die free men? ' He adds,
that 'Mark Antony was properly punished for his folly;
who, when he might have ranked with the Bruti, the
Cassii, and Catos, chose rather to be the underling of
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? MARCUS BRUTUS. ' 169
Octaviua; and that if he did not fall in the approach-
ing battle, they would very soon be at variance with
each otherin which he seems to have been a true
prophet.
? Whilst they were at Smyrna, Brutus desired Cassius
to let him have part of the vast treasure he had col-
lected, because his own was chiefly expended in equip-
ping a fleet, to gain superiority at sea. But the friends
of Cassius advised him against this; alleging that it
would be absurd to give Brutus that money which he
had saved with so much frugality, and acquired with
so much envy, merely that Brutus might increase his
popularity by distributing it amongst the soldiers.
Cassius, however, gave him a third of what he had,
and then they parted for their respective commands.
Cassius behaved with great severity on the taking of
Rhodes: though when he first entered the city, and
was saluted with the title of king and master, he an-
swered, 'That he was neither their king nor their mas-
ter, but the destroyer of him who would have been
both. ' Brutus demanded supplies of men and money
from the Lycians; but Naucrates, an orator, persuaded
the cities to rebel, and some of the inhabitants posted
themselves on the hills with an intent to oppose the
passage of Brutus. Brutus, at first, despatched a party
of horse, which surprised them at dinner, and killed
six hundred of them. But afterwards, when he had
taken the adjacent towns and villages, he gave up the
prisoners without ransom, and hoped to gain them to
his party by clemency. Their former sufferings, how-
ever, made them reject his humanity; and those that
still resisted being driven into the city of Xanthus,
were there besieged. As a river ran close by the
town, several attempted to escape by swimming and
diving; but they were prevented by nets let down for
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? 170
PLUTARCH.
that purpose, which had little bells at the top, to give
notice when any one was taken. The Xanthians after-
wards made a sally in the night, and set fire to several
of the battering engines; but they were perceived and
driven back by the Romans: at the same time the vio-
lence of the winds drove the flames on the city, so that
several houses near the battlements took fire. Brutus
being apprehensive that the whole city would be de-
stroyed, sent his own soldiers to assist the inhabitants
in quenching the fire. But the Lycians were seized
with an incredible despair, a kind of frensy, which can
no otherwise be described than by calling it a pas-
sionate desire of death. Women and children, free-
men and slaves, people of all ages and conditions,
strove to repulse the soldiers as they came to their
assistance from the walls. With their own hands they
collected wood and reeds, and all manner of combus-
tibles, to spread the fire over the city, and encouraged
its progress by every means in their power. Thus
assisted, the flames flew over the whole with dreadful
rapidity; whilst Brutus, extremely shocked at this
calamity, rode round the walls, and stretching forth
his hands to the inhabitants, intreated tbem to spare
themselves and their city. Regardless of his intrea-
ties, they sought by every means to put an end to their
lives. Men, women, and even children, with hideous
cries, leaped into the flames. Some threw themselves
headlong from the walls, and others fell on the swords
of their parents, opening their breasts, and begging to
be slain.
When the city was in a great measure reduced to
ashes, a woman was found who had hanged herself,
with her young child fastened to her neck, and the
torch in her hand, with which she had fired her house.
This deplorable object so much affected Brutus, that
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? MARCUS BRUTUS.
171
he wept when he was told of it, and proclaimed a re-
ward to any soldier who could save a Xanthian. It is
said that no more than a hundred and fifty were pre-
served, and those against their will. Thus the Xan-
thians, as if fate had appointed certain periods for their
destruction, after a long course of years, sunk into that
deplorable ruin, in. which the same rash despair had in-
volved their ancestors in the Persian war: for they too
burned their city, and destroyed themselves.
After this, when the Patareans likewise made resist-
ance, Brutus was under great anxiety whether he should
besiege them; for he was afraid they would follow the
desperate measures of the Xanthians. However, having
some of their women whom he had taken prisoners, he
dismissed them without ransom; and those returning
to their husbands and parents, who happened to be peo-
ple of the first distinction, so much extolled the justice
and moderation of Brutus, that they prevailed on them
to submit, and put their city in his hands. The adja-
cent cities followed their example, and found that his
humanity exceeded their hopes. Cassius compelled
every Rhodian to give up all the gold and silver in his
possession, by which he amassed eight thousand talents;
and yet he laid the public under a fine of five hundred
talents more ; but Brutus took only a hundred and fifty
talents of the Lycians, and, without doing them any
other injury, led his army into Ionia.
Brutus, in the course of this expedition, did many
acts of justice, and was vigilant in the dispensation of
rewards and punishments. An instance of this I shall
relate, because both he himself, and every honest Ro-
man, was particularly pleased with it. When Pompey
the Great, after his overthrow at Pharsalia, fled into
Egypt, and landed near Pelusium, the tutors and mi-
nisters of young Ptolemy consulted what measures
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PLUTARCH.
they should take on the occasion. But they were of
different opinions. Some were for receiving him, others
for excluding him out of Egypt. Theodotus, a Chian
by birth, and a teacher of rhetoric by profession, who
then attended the king in that capacity, was, for want
of abler ministers, admitted to the council. This man
insisted that both were in the wrong--those who were
for receiving, and those who were for expelling Pom-
pey. The best measure they could take, he said, would
be to put him to death; and concluded his speech with
the proverb that' dead men do not bite. ' The council
entered into his opinion; and Pompey the Great, an
example of the incredible mutability of fortune, fell a
sacrifice to the arguments of a sophist, as that sophist
lived afterwards to boast. Not long after, on Caesar's
arrival in Egypt, some of the murderers received their
proper reward, and were put to death; but Theodotus
made his escape. Yet, though for a while he gained
from fortune the poor privilege of a wandering and
despicable life, he fell at last into the hands of Brutus,
as he was passing through Asia; and by paying the
forfeit of his baseness, became more memorable from
his death than from any thing in his life.
About this time Brutus sent for Cassius to Sardis,
and went with his friends to meet him. The whole
army being drawn up, saluted both the leaders with
the title of imperator. But, as it usually happens in
great affairs, where many friends and many officers are
engaged, mutual complaints and suspicions arose be-
tween Brutus and Cassius. To settle these more pro-
perly, they retired into an apartment by themselves.
