Besides, the
enterprise
against Dionysius cannot be
placed in competition with that against Caesar.
placed in competition with that against Caesar.
Plutarch - Lives - v7
They already began to fear the inconveniences
of it; for the autumnal rains had fallen heavy after the
battle, and their tents were filled with mire and water;
which, from the coldness of the weather, immediately
froze. In this situation they received intelligence of
their loss at sea. Their fleet, which was coming from
Italy with a large supply of soldiers, was met by that
of Brutus, and so totally defeated, that the few who
escaped were reduced by famine to eat the sails and
tackle of the ships. It was now determined, on Cae-
sar's side, that they should come to battle before Bru-
tus was made acquainted with his success. It appears
that the fight, both by sea and land, was on the same
day; but, by some accident, rather than the fault of
their officers, Brutus knew nothing of his victory till
twenty days after. Had he been informed of it, he
would never, certainly, have hazarded a second battle;
for he had provisions sufficient for a considerable length
of time, and his army was so advantageously posted,
that it was safe both from the injuries of the weather
and the incursions of the enemy. Besides, knowing
that he was wholly master at sea, and partly victorious
by land, he would have had every thing imaginable to
encourage him, and could not have been urged to any
dangerous measures by despair.
But it seems that the republican form of government
was no longer to subsist in Rome; that it necessarily
required a monarchy; and that Providence, to remove
the only man who could oppose its destined master,
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? MARCUS BRUTUS.
187
kept the knowlege of that victory from him till it was
too late. And yet, how near was he to receiving the
intelligence! The very evening before the engage-
ment a deserter, named Clodius, came over from the
enemy to tell him that Caesar was informed of the loss
of his fleet, and that this was the reason of his hasten-
ing the battle. The deserter, however, was considered
either as designing or ill informed: his intelligence
was disregarded, and he was not even admitted into
the presence of Brutus.
That night, they say, the spectre appeared again to
Brutus, and assumed its former figure, but vanished
without speaking. Yet Publius Volumnius, a philo-
sophical man, who had borne arms with Brutus during
the whole war, makes no mention of this prodigy;
though he says that the first standard was covered
with a swarm of bees; and that the arm of one of the
officers sweated oil of roses, which would not cease
though they often wiped it off. He says too, that im-
mediately before the battle two eagles fought in the
space between the two armies; and that there was an
incredible silence and attention in the field, till that on
the side of Brutus was beaten and flew away. The
story of the Ethiopian is well known, who, meeting the
standard-bearer opening the gate of the camp, was cut
in pieces by the soldiers; for that they interpreted as
an ill omen.
When Brutus had drawn up his army in form of
battle, he paused some time before he gave the word.
While he was visiting the ranks, he had suspicions of
some, and heard accusations of others. The cavalry
he found had no ardor for the attack, but seemed wait-
ing to see what the foot would do. Besides, Camula-
tus, a soldier in the highest estimation for valor, rode
close by Brutus, and went over to the enemy in his
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? 188
PLUTARCH.
sight. This hurt him inexpressibly ; and, partly out of
anger, partly from fear of farther desertion and trea-
chery, he led his forces against the enemy about three
in the afternoon. Where he fought in person he was
still successful. He charged the enemy's left wing,
and the cavalry following the impression which the
foot had made, it was put to the rout. But when the
other wing of Brutus was ordered to advance, the infe-
riority of their numbers made them apprehensive that
they should be surrounded by the enemy. For this
reason they extended their ranks in order to cover
more ground; by which means the centre of the wing
was so much weakened, that it could not sustain the
shock of the enemy, but fled at the first onset. After
their dispersion, the enemy surrounded Brutus, who
did every thing that the bravest and most expert ge-
neral could do in his situation, and whose conduct at
least intitled him to victory. But what seemed an ad-
vantage in the first engagement proved a disadvantage
in the second. In the former battle, that wing of the
enemy which was conquered was totally cut off; but
most of the men in the conquered wing of Cassius were
saved. This, at the time, might appear an advantage,
but it proved a prejudice. The remembrance of their
former defeat filled them with terror and confusion,
which they spread through the greatest part of the
army.
Marcus, the son of Cato, was slain fighting amidst
the bravest of the young nobility. He scorned alike
either to fly or to yield ; but, avowing who he was, and
assuming his father's name, still used his sword, till he
fell on the heaps of the slaughtered enemy. Many
other brave men, who exposed themselves for the pre-
servation of Brutus, fell at the same time.
Lucilius, a man of great worth, and his intimate
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? MARCUS BRUTUS.
189
friend, observed some barbarian horse riding full speed
against Brutus in particular, and was determined to
stop them, though at the hazard of his own life. He
therefore told them that he was Brutus; and they be-
lieved him, because he pretended to be afraid of Cae-
sar, and desired to be conveyed to Antony. Exulting
in their capture, and thinking themselves peculiarly
fortunate, they carried him along with them by night;
having previously sent an account to Antony of their
success, who was infinitely pleased with it, and came
out to them. Many others, likewise, when they heard
that Brutus was brought alive, assembled to see him:
and some pitied his misfortunes, while others accused
him of an inglorious meanness, in suffering the love of
life to betray him into the hands of barbarians. When
he approached, and Antony was deliberating in what
manner he should receive Brutus, Lucilius first ad-
dressed him, and with great intrepidity said, ' Antony,
be assured that Brutus neither is, nor will, be taken
by an enemy. Forbid it Heaven, that Fortune should
have such a triumph over Virtue! Whether he shall
be found alive or dead, he will be found in a state be-
coming Brutus. I imposed on your soldiers, and am
prepared to suffer the worst you can inflict on me. '
Thus spoke Lucilius, to the no small astonishment of
those that were present; when Antony, addressing
himself to those that brought him, said, 'I perceive,
fellow-soldiers, that you are angry at this imposition
of Lucilius; but you have really got a better booty
than you intended. You sought an enemy; but you
have brought me a friend. I know not how I should
have treated Brutus, had you brought him alive; but I
am sure that it is better to have such a man as Luci-
lius for a friend than for an enemy. ' When he said
this he embraced Lucilius, recommending him to the
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? 190
PLUTARCH.
care of one of his friends; and he ever after found him
faithful to his interest.
Brutus, attended by a few of his officers and friends,
having passed a brook that was overhung with cliffs,
and shaded with trees, and being overtaken by night,
stopped in a cavity under a large rock. There, cast-
ing his eyes on the heavens, which were covered with
stars, he repeated two verses; one of which, Volum-
nius tells us, was this: .
Forgive not, Jove, the cause of this distress!
The other, he says, had escaped his memory. On
enumerating the several friends that had fallen before
his eyes in the battle, he sighed deeply at the mention
of Flavius and Labeo; the latter of whom was his
lieutenant, and the former master of the band of arti-
ficers. In the mean while, one of his attendants being
thirsty, and observing Brutus in the same condition,
took his helmet, and went to the brook for water. At
the same time a noise was heard on the opposite bank,
and Volumnius and Dardanus the armor-bearer went
to see what it was. In a short time they returned, and
asked for the water: 'It is all drank up,' said Brutus,
with a smile; 'but another helmet-full shall be fetched. '
The man who had brought the first water was there-
fore sent again; but he was wounded by the enemy,
and made his escape with difficulty.
As Brutus supposed that he had not lost many men
in the battle, Statilius undertook to make his way
through the enemy (for there was no other way) and
see in what condition their camp was. If things were
safe there, he was to hold up a torch for a signal, and
return. He got safe to the camp; for the torch was
held up. But a long time elapsed, and he did not
return. 'If Statilius were alive,' said Brutus, 'he
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? MARCUS BRUTUS.
191
would be here. ' In his return he fell into the enemy's
hands and was slain.
The night was now far spent; when Brutus, leaning
his head towards his servant Clitus, whispered some-
thing in his ear. Clitus made no answer, but burst
into tears. After that he took his armor-bearer Dar-
danus aside, and said something to him in private. At
last addressing himself to Volumuius in Greek, he in-
treated him, in memory of their common studies and
exercises, to put his hand to his sword, and help him
to give the thrust. Volumnius, as well as several
others, refused: and one of them observing that they
must necessarily fly; 'We must fly, indeed,' said Bru-
tus, rising hastily, 'but not with our feet, but with our
hands. ' He then took each of them by the hand, and
spoke with great appearance of cheerfulness, to the
following purpose: 'It is an infinite satisfaction to
me that all my friends have been faithful. If I am
angry with Fortune, it is for the sake of my country.
Myself I esteem more happy than the conquerors; not
only in respect of the past, but in my present situation.
I shall leave behind me that reputation for virtue, which
they, with all their wealth and power, will never acquire:
for posterity will not scruple to believe and declare, that
they were an abandoned 6et of men, who destroyed the
virtuous, for the sake of that empire to which they had
no right? After this he intreated them severally to pro-
vide for their own safety, and withdrew with only two
or three of his most intimate friends. One of these was
Strato, with whom he first became acquainted when they
studied rhetoric. This friend he placed next to him-
self, and laying hold of the hilt of his sword with both
his hands, he fell on the point, and died. Some say
that Strato, at the earnest request of Brutus, turned
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? 192
PLUTARCH.
aside his bead, and held the sword; on which he threw
himself with such violence that, entering at his breast,
it passed quite through his body, and he immediately
expired.
Messala, the friend of Brutus, after he was recon-
ciled to Caesar, took occasion to recommend Strato to
his favor. 'This,' said he, with tears, ' is the man who
did the last kind office for my dear Brutus. ' Caesar re-
ceived him with kindness; and he was one of those
brave Greeks who afterwards attended him at the bat-
tle of Actium. Of Messala, it is said, that when Caesar
observed he bad been no less zealous in his service at
Actium than he had been against him at Philippi, he
answered, 'I have always taken the best and justest
side. ' When Antony found the body of Brutus, he
ordered it to be covered with the richest robe he had;
and that being stolen, he put the thief to death. The
ashes of Brutus he sent to his mother Servilia.
With regard to Porcia, his wife, Nicolaus the philo-
sopher, and Valerius Maximus, tell us, that being pre-
vented from that death she wished for, by the constant
vigilance of her friends, she snatched some burning
coals from the fire, and shut them close in her mouth,
till she was suffocated. Notwithstanding, there is a
letter from Brutus to his friends still extant, in which
he laments the death of Porcia, and complains that
their neglect of her must have made her prefer death
to the continuance of her illness: so that Nicolaus
appears to have been mistaken in the time, at least, if
this epistle be authentic; for it describes Porcia's
distemper, her conjugal affection, and the manner of
her death.
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? DIoN AND BRUTUS CoMPARED. 193
DION AND BRUTUS COMPARED.
WHAt is principally to be admired in the lives of Dion
and Brutus, is their rising to such importance from in-
considerable beginnings. But here Dion has the ad-
vantage; for, in the progress of glory, he had no co-
adjutor: whereas Cassius went hand in hand with Bru-
tus; and though, in the reputation of virtue and honor,
he was by no means his equal, in military experience,
resolution and activity, he was not inferior. Some
have imputed to him the origin of the whole enter-
prise, and have asserted that Brutus would never
otherwise have engaged in it. But Dion, at the same
time that he made the whole military preparations him-
self, engaged the friends and associates of his design.
He did not, like Brutus, gain power and riches from
the war; he employed that wealth on which he was to
subsist as an exile in a foreign country, in restoring
the liberties of his own. When Brutus and Cassius
fled from Rome, and found no asylum from the pursuit
of their enemies, their only resource was war; and
they took up arms as much in their own defence as in
that of the common liberty. Dion, on the contrary,
was happier in his banishment than the tyrant that
banished him; and yet he voluntarily exposed himself
to danger for the freedom of Sicily. Besides, to deliver
the Romans from Caesar, and the Syracusans from Dio-
nysius, were enterprises of a very different kind. Diony-
sius was an avowed and established tyrant; and Sicily,
with reason, groaned beneath his yoke. But with re-
spect to Caesar, though, whilst his imperial power was
iu its infancy, he treated his opponents with severity;
yet, as soon as that power was confirmed, the tyranny
was rather a nominal than real thing; for no tyrannical
PLUT. VoL. VII. N
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? 194 ? PLUTARCH.
action could be laid to his charge. Nay, such was the
condition of Rome, that it evidently required a master;
and Caesar was no more than a tender and skilful phy-
sician, appointed by Providence to heal the distempers
of the state. Of course the people lamented his death,
and were implacably enraged against his assassins.
Dion, on the contrary, was reproached by the Syracu-
sans for suffering Dionysius to escape, and not digging
up the former tyrant's grave.
With regard to their military conduct, Dion, as a
general, was without a fault: he not only made the
most of his own instructions, but, where others failed,
he happily repaired the error. But it was wrong in
Brutus to hazard a second battle, where all was at
stake. And when that battle was lost, he had neither
sagacity enough to think of new resources, nor spirit,
like Pompey, to contend with fortune, though he had
still reason to rely on his troops, and was absolute
master at sea.
But what Brutus is chiefly blamed for, was his in-
gratitude to Caesar. He owed his life to his favor, as
well as the lives of those prisoners for whom he inter-
ceded. He was treated as his friend, and distinguished
with particular marks of honor; and yet he imbrued
his hands in the blood of his benefactor. Dion stands
clear of any charge like this. As a relation of Diony-
sius, he assisted and was useful to him in the adminis-
tration; in which case his services were equal to his
honors. When he was driven into exile, and de-
prived of his wife and his fortune, he had every mo-
tive that was just and honorable to take up arms
against him.
Yet if this circumstance is considered in another
light, Brutus will have the advantage. The greatest
glory of both consists in their abhorrence of tyrants,
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? DIoN AND BRUTUS CoMPARED. 195
I
and their criminal measures. This, in Brutus, was not
blended with any other motive. He had no quarrel
with Caesar; but exposed his life for the liberty of his
country. Had not Dion been injured, he had not
fought. This is clear from Plato's epistles; where it
appears that he was banished from the court of Dio-
nysius, and in consequence of that banishment made
war on him. For the good of the community, Brutus,
though an enemy to Pompey, became his friend; and
though a friend to Caesar, he became his enemy. His
enmity and his friendship arose from the same princi-
ple, which was justice. But Dion, whilst in favor, em-
ployed his services for Dionysius; and it was not till
he was disgraced that he armed against him. Of course
his friends were not quite satisfied with his enterprise.
They were apprehensive that when he had destroyed
the tyrant he might seize the government himself, and
amuse the people with some softer title than that of
tyranny. On the other hand, the very enemies of Bru-
tus acknowlege that he was the only conspirator who
had no other view than that of restoring the ancient
form of government.
Besides, the enterprise against Dionysius cannot be
placed in competition with that against Caesar. The
former had rendered himself contemptible by his low-
manners, his drunkenness, and debauchery. But to
meditate the fall of Caesar, and not tremble at his dig-
nity, his fortune, or his power, nor shrink at that
name, which shook the kings of India and Parthia on
their thrones, and disturbed their slumbers; this
showed a superiority of soul, on which fear could
have no influence. Dion was no sooner seen in Sicily
than he was joined by thousands; bat the authority of
Ca? sar was so formidable in Rome, that it supported
his friends even after he was dead; and a simple boy
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? 196 , PLUTARCH.
rose to the first eminence of power by adopting his
name; which served as a charm against the envy and
the influence of Antony. Should it be objected that
Dion had the sharpest conflicts in expelling the tyrant,
but that Caesar fell naked and unguarded beneath the
sword of Brutus, it will argue at least a consummate
management and prudence to be able to come at a man
of his power naked and unguarded; particularly when
it is considered that the blow was not sudden, nor the
work of one, or of a few men, but meditated, and com-
municated to many associates, of whom not one de-
ceived the leader; for either he had the power of dis-
tinguishing honest men at the first view, or such as he
chose he made honest by the confidence he reposed in
them. But Dion confided in men of bad principles;
so that he must either have been injudicious in his
choice, or, if his people grew worse after their ap-
pointments, unskilful in his management. Neither of
these can be consistent with the talents and conduct of
a wise man; and Plato, accordingly, blames him in his
letters for making choice of such friends as, in the end,
were his ruin.
Dion found no friend to revenge his death; but Bru-
tus received an honorable interment, even from his
enemy Antony: and Caesar allowed that public rej
spect which was paid to his memory, as will appear
from the following circumstance. A statue of brass
had been erected to him at Milan, in Gallia Cisalpina,
which was a fine performance, and a striking likeness.
Caesar, as he passed through the town, took notice of
it, and summoning the magistrates, in the presence of
his attendants, be told them that they had broken the
league, by harboring one of his enemies. The magis-
trates, as may well be supposed, denied it, and stared
at each other, profoundly ignorant what enemy he
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? DIoN AND BRUTUS CoMPARED. 197
could mean. He then turned towards the statue, and,
knitting his hrows, said, 'Is not this my enemy that
stands here? ' The poor Milanese were struck dumb
with astonishment; but Ca;sar told them, with a smile,
that he was pleased to find them faithful to their friends
in adversity, and ordered that the statue should con-
tinue where it was.
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? ARTAXERXES.
THe first Artaxerxes, who of all the Persian kings
was most distinguished for his moderation and great-
ness of mind, was surnamed Longiraanus, because his
right hand was longer than his left. He was the son
of Xerxes. The second Artaxerxes, surnamed Mne-
mon, whose life we are going to write, was son to the
daughter of the first; for Darius, by his wife Pary-
satis, had four sons; Artaxerxes the elder, Cyrus the
second, and Ostanes and Oxathres, the two younger.
Cyrus was called after the ancient king of that name,
as he is said to have been after the sun; for the Per-
sians call the sun Cyrus. Artaxerxes at first was
named Arsicas, though Dinon asserts that his original
name was Cartes. But though Ctesias has filled his
books with a number of incredible and extravagant
fables, it is not probable that he should be ignorant
of the name of a king at whose court he lived, in
quality of physician to him, his wife, his mother, and
his children. <
Cyrus from his infancy was of a violent and impe-
tuous temper; but Artaxerxes had a native mildness,
something gentle and moderate in his whole dispo-
sition. The latter married a beautiful and virtuous
lady, by order of his parents, and he kept her when
they wanted him to put her away: for the king having
put her brother to death, designed that she should
share his fate. But Arsicas applied to his mother,
with many tears and intreaties, and, with much diffi-
culty, prevailed on her, not only to spare her life, but
to excuse him from divorcing her. Yet his mother had
the greater affection for Cyrus, and was desirous of
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? ARTAXERXES.
raising him to the throne: therefore, when he was
called from his residence on the coast in the sickness
of Darius, he returned full of hopes that the queen's
interest had established him successor. Parysatis had,
indeed, a specious pretence, which the ancient Xerxes
had made use of, at the suggestion of Demaratus, that
she had brought Darius his son Arsicas when he was
in a private station, but Cyrus when he was a king.
However, she could not prevail. Darius appointed
his eldest son his successor; on which occasion his
name was changed to Artaxerxes. Cyrus had the go-
vernment of Lydia, and was to be commander-in-chief
on the coast.
Soon after the death of Darius, the king, his suc-
cessor, went to Pasargada;, in order to be consecrated,
according to custom, by the priests of Persia. In that
city there is the temple of a goddess, who has the
affairs of war under her patronage, and therefore may
be supposed to be Minerva. The prince to be con-
secrated must enter that temple, put off his own robe
there, and take that which was worn by the great
Cyrus before he was king. He must eat a cake of
figs, chew some turpentine, and drink a cup of acidu-
lated milk. Whether there are any other ceremonies,
is unknown, except to the persons concerned. As
Artaxerxes was on the point of going to be consecrated,
Tissaphernes brought to him a priest, who had been
chief inspector of Cyrus' education in his infancy, and
had instructed him in the learning of the magi; and
therefore might be supposed to be as much concerned
as any man in Persia at his pupil's not being ap-
pointed king: for that reason his accusation against
Cyrus could not but gain credit. He accused him of a
design to lie in wait for the king in the temple, and,
after he had put off his garment, to fall on him and de-
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? 200
PLUTARCH.
stroy him. Some affirm that Cyrus was immediately
seized on this information; others, that he got into the
temple, and concealed himself there, but was pointed
out by the priest: in consequence of which he was to
be put to death ; but his mother, at that moment, took
him in her arms, bound the tresses of her hair about
him, held his neck to her own, and by her tears and
intreaties prevailed to have him pardoned, and re-
manded to the sea-coast. Nevertheless, he was far
from being satisfied with his government. Instead of
thinking of his brother's favor with gratitude, he re-
membered only the indignity of chains; and, in his
resentment, aspired more than ever after the sove-
reignty.
Some, indeed, say that he thought his allowance for
his table insufficient, and therefore revolted from his
king. But this is a foolish pretext: for if he had no
other resource, his mother would have supplied him
with whatever he wanted out of her revenues. Be-
sides, there needs no greater proof of his riches than
the number of foreign troops that he entertained in his
service, which were kept for him in various parts by
his friends and retainers: for, the better to conceal
his preparations, he did not keep his forces in a body,
but had his emissaries in different places, who enlisted
foreigners on various pretences. Meanwhile his mo-
ther, who lived at court, made it her business to re-
move the king's suspicions: and Cyrus himself always
wrote in a lenient style; sometimes begging a candid
interpretation, and sometimes recriminating on Tissa-
phernes, as if his contention had been solely with that
grandee. Add to this, that the king had a dilatory
turn of mind, which was natural to him, and which
many took for moderation. At first, indeed, he seemed
intirely to imitate the mildness of the first Artaxerxes,
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? ARTAXERXES.
201
whose name he bore, by behaving with great affability
to all that addressed him, and distributing honors and
rewards to persons of merit with a lavish hand. He
took care that punishments should never be embit-
tered with insult. If he received presents, he appeared
as well pleased as those who offered them, or rather
as those who received favors from him; and in con-
ferring favors, he always kept a countenance of benig-
nity and pleasure. There was not any thing, however
trifling, brought him by way of present, which he did
not receive kindly. Even when one Omisus brought
him a pomegranate of uncommon size, he said, ' By
the light of Mithra, this man, if he were made go-
vernor of a small city, would soon make it a great
one. ' When he was once on a journey, and people
presented him with a variety of things by the way, a
laboring man, having nothing else to give him, ran to
the river, and brought him some water in his hands.
Artaxerxes was so much pleased, that he sent the man
a gold cup, and a thousand darics. When Euclidas,
the Lacedaemonian, said many insolent things to him,
he contented himself with ordering the captain of his
guard to give him this answer, ' You may say what
you please to the king; but the king would have you
to know that he can not only say, but do. ' One day,
as he was hunting, Tiribazus showed him a rent in his
robe: on which the king said, ' What shall I do with
it? '--' Put on another, and give that to me,' said Tiri-
bazus. 'It shall be so,' said the king; ' I give it
thee; but I charge thee not to wear it. ' Tiribazus,
who, though not a bad man, was giddy and vain, dis-
regarding the restriction, soon put on the robe, and at
the same time tricked himself out with some golden
ornaments, fit only for queens. The court expressed
- great indignation, because it was a thing contrary to
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PLUTARCH.
their laws and customs: but the king only laughed,
and said to him, ' I allow thee to wear the trinkets as a
woman, and the robe as a madman. '
None had been admitted to the king of Persia's
table but his mother and his wife; the former of which
sat above him, and the latter below him: Artaxerxes,
nevertheless, did that honor to Ostanes and Oxathres,
two of his younger brothers. But what afforded the
Persians the most pleasing spectacle was the queen
Statira always riding in her chariot with the curtains
open, and admitting the women of the country to ap-
proach and salute her. These things made his admi-
nistration popular. Yet there were some turbulent and
factious men, who represented that the affairs of Persia
required a king of such a magnificent spirit, so able a
warrior, and so generous a master as Cyrus was; and
that the dignity of so great an empire could not be
supported without a prince of high thoughts and noble
ambition. It was not therefore without a confidence in
some of the Persians, as well as in the maritime pro-
vinces, that Cyrus undertook the war.
He wrote also to the Lacedaemonians for assistance;
promising that to the foot he would give horses, and to
the horsemen chariots: that on those who had farms
he would bestow villages, and on those who had vil-
lages, cities. As for their pay, he assured them it
should not be counted, but measured out to them. At
the same time he spoke in very high terms of himself,
telling them he had a greater and more princely heart
than his brother; that he was the better philosopher,
being instructed in the doctrines of the magi; and that
he could drink and bear more wine than his brother.
Artaxerxes, he said, was so timorous and effeminate a
man, that he could not sit a horse in hunting, nor a
chariot in time of war. The Lacedaemonians therefore
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? ARTAXERXES.
203
sent the scytale to Clearchus, with orders to serve
Cyrus in every thing he demanded.
Cyrus began his march against the king with a nu-
merous army of barbarians, and almost thirteen thou-
sand Greek mercenaries. He found one pretence after
another for having such an armament on foot; but his
real designs did not remain long undiscovered; for
Tissaphernes went in person to inform the king of
them.
This news put the court in great disorder. Parysatis
was censured as the principal cause of this war, and
her friends were suspected of a private intelligence
with Cyrus. Statira, in her distress about the war,
gave Parysatis the most trouble. 'Where is now,'
she cried, 'that faith which you pledged? Where
your intercessions, by which you saved the man that
was conspiring against his brother? Have they not
brought war and all its calamities on us V These ex-
postulations fixed in the heart of Parysatis, who was
naturally vindictive and barbarous in her resentment
and revenge, such a hatred of Statira, that she con-
trived to take her off. Dinon writes that this cruel
purpose was put in execution during the war: but
Ctesias assures us it was after it. And it is not pro-
bable that he, who was an eye-witness to the transac-
tions of that court, could either be ignorant of the time
when the assassination took place, or could have any
reason to misrepresent the date of it, though he often
deviates into fictitious tales, and loves to give us in-
vention instead of truth. We shall therefore leave
this story to the order of time in which he has placed
it.
While Cyrus was on his march, he had accounts
brought him that the king did not design to try the
fortune of the field by giving battle immediately, but
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? PLUTARCH.
to wait in Persia till his forces were assembled there
from all parts of his kingdom: and though he had
drawn a trench across the plain ten fathoms wide, as
many deep, and four hundred furlongs in length, yet
he suffered Cyrus to pass him, and to march almost to
Babylon. Tiribazus, we are told, was the first who
ventured to remonstrate to the king, that he ought not
any longer to avoid an action, nor to abandon Media,
Babylon, and even Susa, to the enemy, and hide him-
self in Persia, since he had an army infinitely greater
than theirs, and ten thousand satrapae and other offi-
cers, all of them superior to those of Cyrus both in
courage and conduct.
On this he took a resolution to come to action as
soon as possible. His sudden appearance with an army
of nine hundred thousand men, well prepared and ac-
coutred, extremely surprised the rebels; who, through
the confidence they had in themselves, and contempt
of their enemy, were marching in great confusion, and
even without their arms: so that it was with great dif-
ficulty that Cyrus reduced them to any order; and he
could not do it at last without much noise and tumult.
As the king advanced in silence, and at a slow pace,
the good discipline of his troops afforded an astonish-
ing spectacle to the Greeks, who expected amongst
such a multitude nothing but disorderly shouts and
motions, and every other instance of distraction and
confusion. He showed his judgment, too, in placing
the strongest of his armed chariots before that part of
his phalanx which was opposite to the Greeks, that, by
the impetuosity of their motion, they might break the
enemy's ranks before they came to close combat.
Many historians have described this battle; but Xe-
nophon has done it with such life and energy, that we
do not read an account of it--we see it, and feel all
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? AHTAXERXIiS.
205
the danger. It would be very absurd therefore to at-
tempt any thing after him, except the mentioning some
material circumstances which he has omitted.
The place where the battle was fought is called Cu-
naxa, and is five hundred furlongs from Babylon. A
little before the action Clearchus advised Cyrus to post
himself behind the Macedonians, and not risk his per-
son; on which he is reported to have said, 'What ad-
vice is this, Clearchus 1 Would you have me, at the
very time I am aiming at a crown, to show myself un-
worthy of one? ' Cyrus, indeed, committed an error
in rushing into the midst of the greatest danger without
care or caution; but Clearchus was guilty of another
as great, if not greater, in not consenting to place his
Greeks opposite to the king, and in getting the river
on his right, to prevent his being surrounded: for, if
safety was his principal object, and he was by all means
to avoid loss, he ought to have stayed at home. But
to carry his arms ten thousand furlongs from the sea,
without necessity or constraint, and solely with a view
to place Cyrus on the throne of Persia, and then not
to be solicitous for a post where he might best defend
the prince whose pay he received, but for one in which
he might act most at ease and in the greatest safety,
was to behave like a man who, on the sight of present
danger, abandons the whole enterprise, and forgets the
purpose of his expedition. For it appears from the
course of the action, that if the Greeks had charged
those that were posted about the king's person, they
would not have stood the shock; and after Artaxerxes
had been slain, or put to flight, the conqueror must
have gained the crown without farther interruption.
Therefore the ruin of Cyrus' affairs, and his death, is
much rather to be ascribed to the caution of Clearchus
than to his own rashness: for, if the king himself had
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of it; for the autumnal rains had fallen heavy after the
battle, and their tents were filled with mire and water;
which, from the coldness of the weather, immediately
froze. In this situation they received intelligence of
their loss at sea. Their fleet, which was coming from
Italy with a large supply of soldiers, was met by that
of Brutus, and so totally defeated, that the few who
escaped were reduced by famine to eat the sails and
tackle of the ships. It was now determined, on Cae-
sar's side, that they should come to battle before Bru-
tus was made acquainted with his success. It appears
that the fight, both by sea and land, was on the same
day; but, by some accident, rather than the fault of
their officers, Brutus knew nothing of his victory till
twenty days after. Had he been informed of it, he
would never, certainly, have hazarded a second battle;
for he had provisions sufficient for a considerable length
of time, and his army was so advantageously posted,
that it was safe both from the injuries of the weather
and the incursions of the enemy. Besides, knowing
that he was wholly master at sea, and partly victorious
by land, he would have had every thing imaginable to
encourage him, and could not have been urged to any
dangerous measures by despair.
But it seems that the republican form of government
was no longer to subsist in Rome; that it necessarily
required a monarchy; and that Providence, to remove
the only man who could oppose its destined master,
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? MARCUS BRUTUS.
187
kept the knowlege of that victory from him till it was
too late. And yet, how near was he to receiving the
intelligence! The very evening before the engage-
ment a deserter, named Clodius, came over from the
enemy to tell him that Caesar was informed of the loss
of his fleet, and that this was the reason of his hasten-
ing the battle. The deserter, however, was considered
either as designing or ill informed: his intelligence
was disregarded, and he was not even admitted into
the presence of Brutus.
That night, they say, the spectre appeared again to
Brutus, and assumed its former figure, but vanished
without speaking. Yet Publius Volumnius, a philo-
sophical man, who had borne arms with Brutus during
the whole war, makes no mention of this prodigy;
though he says that the first standard was covered
with a swarm of bees; and that the arm of one of the
officers sweated oil of roses, which would not cease
though they often wiped it off. He says too, that im-
mediately before the battle two eagles fought in the
space between the two armies; and that there was an
incredible silence and attention in the field, till that on
the side of Brutus was beaten and flew away. The
story of the Ethiopian is well known, who, meeting the
standard-bearer opening the gate of the camp, was cut
in pieces by the soldiers; for that they interpreted as
an ill omen.
When Brutus had drawn up his army in form of
battle, he paused some time before he gave the word.
While he was visiting the ranks, he had suspicions of
some, and heard accusations of others. The cavalry
he found had no ardor for the attack, but seemed wait-
ing to see what the foot would do. Besides, Camula-
tus, a soldier in the highest estimation for valor, rode
close by Brutus, and went over to the enemy in his
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? 188
PLUTARCH.
sight. This hurt him inexpressibly ; and, partly out of
anger, partly from fear of farther desertion and trea-
chery, he led his forces against the enemy about three
in the afternoon. Where he fought in person he was
still successful. He charged the enemy's left wing,
and the cavalry following the impression which the
foot had made, it was put to the rout. But when the
other wing of Brutus was ordered to advance, the infe-
riority of their numbers made them apprehensive that
they should be surrounded by the enemy. For this
reason they extended their ranks in order to cover
more ground; by which means the centre of the wing
was so much weakened, that it could not sustain the
shock of the enemy, but fled at the first onset. After
their dispersion, the enemy surrounded Brutus, who
did every thing that the bravest and most expert ge-
neral could do in his situation, and whose conduct at
least intitled him to victory. But what seemed an ad-
vantage in the first engagement proved a disadvantage
in the second. In the former battle, that wing of the
enemy which was conquered was totally cut off; but
most of the men in the conquered wing of Cassius were
saved. This, at the time, might appear an advantage,
but it proved a prejudice. The remembrance of their
former defeat filled them with terror and confusion,
which they spread through the greatest part of the
army.
Marcus, the son of Cato, was slain fighting amidst
the bravest of the young nobility. He scorned alike
either to fly or to yield ; but, avowing who he was, and
assuming his father's name, still used his sword, till he
fell on the heaps of the slaughtered enemy. Many
other brave men, who exposed themselves for the pre-
servation of Brutus, fell at the same time.
Lucilius, a man of great worth, and his intimate
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? MARCUS BRUTUS.
189
friend, observed some barbarian horse riding full speed
against Brutus in particular, and was determined to
stop them, though at the hazard of his own life. He
therefore told them that he was Brutus; and they be-
lieved him, because he pretended to be afraid of Cae-
sar, and desired to be conveyed to Antony. Exulting
in their capture, and thinking themselves peculiarly
fortunate, they carried him along with them by night;
having previously sent an account to Antony of their
success, who was infinitely pleased with it, and came
out to them. Many others, likewise, when they heard
that Brutus was brought alive, assembled to see him:
and some pitied his misfortunes, while others accused
him of an inglorious meanness, in suffering the love of
life to betray him into the hands of barbarians. When
he approached, and Antony was deliberating in what
manner he should receive Brutus, Lucilius first ad-
dressed him, and with great intrepidity said, ' Antony,
be assured that Brutus neither is, nor will, be taken
by an enemy. Forbid it Heaven, that Fortune should
have such a triumph over Virtue! Whether he shall
be found alive or dead, he will be found in a state be-
coming Brutus. I imposed on your soldiers, and am
prepared to suffer the worst you can inflict on me. '
Thus spoke Lucilius, to the no small astonishment of
those that were present; when Antony, addressing
himself to those that brought him, said, 'I perceive,
fellow-soldiers, that you are angry at this imposition
of Lucilius; but you have really got a better booty
than you intended. You sought an enemy; but you
have brought me a friend. I know not how I should
have treated Brutus, had you brought him alive; but I
am sure that it is better to have such a man as Luci-
lius for a friend than for an enemy. ' When he said
this he embraced Lucilius, recommending him to the
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? 190
PLUTARCH.
care of one of his friends; and he ever after found him
faithful to his interest.
Brutus, attended by a few of his officers and friends,
having passed a brook that was overhung with cliffs,
and shaded with trees, and being overtaken by night,
stopped in a cavity under a large rock. There, cast-
ing his eyes on the heavens, which were covered with
stars, he repeated two verses; one of which, Volum-
nius tells us, was this: .
Forgive not, Jove, the cause of this distress!
The other, he says, had escaped his memory. On
enumerating the several friends that had fallen before
his eyes in the battle, he sighed deeply at the mention
of Flavius and Labeo; the latter of whom was his
lieutenant, and the former master of the band of arti-
ficers. In the mean while, one of his attendants being
thirsty, and observing Brutus in the same condition,
took his helmet, and went to the brook for water. At
the same time a noise was heard on the opposite bank,
and Volumnius and Dardanus the armor-bearer went
to see what it was. In a short time they returned, and
asked for the water: 'It is all drank up,' said Brutus,
with a smile; 'but another helmet-full shall be fetched. '
The man who had brought the first water was there-
fore sent again; but he was wounded by the enemy,
and made his escape with difficulty.
As Brutus supposed that he had not lost many men
in the battle, Statilius undertook to make his way
through the enemy (for there was no other way) and
see in what condition their camp was. If things were
safe there, he was to hold up a torch for a signal, and
return. He got safe to the camp; for the torch was
held up. But a long time elapsed, and he did not
return. 'If Statilius were alive,' said Brutus, 'he
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? MARCUS BRUTUS.
191
would be here. ' In his return he fell into the enemy's
hands and was slain.
The night was now far spent; when Brutus, leaning
his head towards his servant Clitus, whispered some-
thing in his ear. Clitus made no answer, but burst
into tears. After that he took his armor-bearer Dar-
danus aside, and said something to him in private. At
last addressing himself to Volumuius in Greek, he in-
treated him, in memory of their common studies and
exercises, to put his hand to his sword, and help him
to give the thrust. Volumnius, as well as several
others, refused: and one of them observing that they
must necessarily fly; 'We must fly, indeed,' said Bru-
tus, rising hastily, 'but not with our feet, but with our
hands. ' He then took each of them by the hand, and
spoke with great appearance of cheerfulness, to the
following purpose: 'It is an infinite satisfaction to
me that all my friends have been faithful. If I am
angry with Fortune, it is for the sake of my country.
Myself I esteem more happy than the conquerors; not
only in respect of the past, but in my present situation.
I shall leave behind me that reputation for virtue, which
they, with all their wealth and power, will never acquire:
for posterity will not scruple to believe and declare, that
they were an abandoned 6et of men, who destroyed the
virtuous, for the sake of that empire to which they had
no right? After this he intreated them severally to pro-
vide for their own safety, and withdrew with only two
or three of his most intimate friends. One of these was
Strato, with whom he first became acquainted when they
studied rhetoric. This friend he placed next to him-
self, and laying hold of the hilt of his sword with both
his hands, he fell on the point, and died. Some say
that Strato, at the earnest request of Brutus, turned
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? 192
PLUTARCH.
aside his bead, and held the sword; on which he threw
himself with such violence that, entering at his breast,
it passed quite through his body, and he immediately
expired.
Messala, the friend of Brutus, after he was recon-
ciled to Caesar, took occasion to recommend Strato to
his favor. 'This,' said he, with tears, ' is the man who
did the last kind office for my dear Brutus. ' Caesar re-
ceived him with kindness; and he was one of those
brave Greeks who afterwards attended him at the bat-
tle of Actium. Of Messala, it is said, that when Caesar
observed he bad been no less zealous in his service at
Actium than he had been against him at Philippi, he
answered, 'I have always taken the best and justest
side. ' When Antony found the body of Brutus, he
ordered it to be covered with the richest robe he had;
and that being stolen, he put the thief to death. The
ashes of Brutus he sent to his mother Servilia.
With regard to Porcia, his wife, Nicolaus the philo-
sopher, and Valerius Maximus, tell us, that being pre-
vented from that death she wished for, by the constant
vigilance of her friends, she snatched some burning
coals from the fire, and shut them close in her mouth,
till she was suffocated. Notwithstanding, there is a
letter from Brutus to his friends still extant, in which
he laments the death of Porcia, and complains that
their neglect of her must have made her prefer death
to the continuance of her illness: so that Nicolaus
appears to have been mistaken in the time, at least, if
this epistle be authentic; for it describes Porcia's
distemper, her conjugal affection, and the manner of
her death.
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? DIoN AND BRUTUS CoMPARED. 193
DION AND BRUTUS COMPARED.
WHAt is principally to be admired in the lives of Dion
and Brutus, is their rising to such importance from in-
considerable beginnings. But here Dion has the ad-
vantage; for, in the progress of glory, he had no co-
adjutor: whereas Cassius went hand in hand with Bru-
tus; and though, in the reputation of virtue and honor,
he was by no means his equal, in military experience,
resolution and activity, he was not inferior. Some
have imputed to him the origin of the whole enter-
prise, and have asserted that Brutus would never
otherwise have engaged in it. But Dion, at the same
time that he made the whole military preparations him-
self, engaged the friends and associates of his design.
He did not, like Brutus, gain power and riches from
the war; he employed that wealth on which he was to
subsist as an exile in a foreign country, in restoring
the liberties of his own. When Brutus and Cassius
fled from Rome, and found no asylum from the pursuit
of their enemies, their only resource was war; and
they took up arms as much in their own defence as in
that of the common liberty. Dion, on the contrary,
was happier in his banishment than the tyrant that
banished him; and yet he voluntarily exposed himself
to danger for the freedom of Sicily. Besides, to deliver
the Romans from Caesar, and the Syracusans from Dio-
nysius, were enterprises of a very different kind. Diony-
sius was an avowed and established tyrant; and Sicily,
with reason, groaned beneath his yoke. But with re-
spect to Caesar, though, whilst his imperial power was
iu its infancy, he treated his opponents with severity;
yet, as soon as that power was confirmed, the tyranny
was rather a nominal than real thing; for no tyrannical
PLUT. VoL. VII. N
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? 194 ? PLUTARCH.
action could be laid to his charge. Nay, such was the
condition of Rome, that it evidently required a master;
and Caesar was no more than a tender and skilful phy-
sician, appointed by Providence to heal the distempers
of the state. Of course the people lamented his death,
and were implacably enraged against his assassins.
Dion, on the contrary, was reproached by the Syracu-
sans for suffering Dionysius to escape, and not digging
up the former tyrant's grave.
With regard to their military conduct, Dion, as a
general, was without a fault: he not only made the
most of his own instructions, but, where others failed,
he happily repaired the error. But it was wrong in
Brutus to hazard a second battle, where all was at
stake. And when that battle was lost, he had neither
sagacity enough to think of new resources, nor spirit,
like Pompey, to contend with fortune, though he had
still reason to rely on his troops, and was absolute
master at sea.
But what Brutus is chiefly blamed for, was his in-
gratitude to Caesar. He owed his life to his favor, as
well as the lives of those prisoners for whom he inter-
ceded. He was treated as his friend, and distinguished
with particular marks of honor; and yet he imbrued
his hands in the blood of his benefactor. Dion stands
clear of any charge like this. As a relation of Diony-
sius, he assisted and was useful to him in the adminis-
tration; in which case his services were equal to his
honors. When he was driven into exile, and de-
prived of his wife and his fortune, he had every mo-
tive that was just and honorable to take up arms
against him.
Yet if this circumstance is considered in another
light, Brutus will have the advantage. The greatest
glory of both consists in their abhorrence of tyrants,
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? DIoN AND BRUTUS CoMPARED. 195
I
and their criminal measures. This, in Brutus, was not
blended with any other motive. He had no quarrel
with Caesar; but exposed his life for the liberty of his
country. Had not Dion been injured, he had not
fought. This is clear from Plato's epistles; where it
appears that he was banished from the court of Dio-
nysius, and in consequence of that banishment made
war on him. For the good of the community, Brutus,
though an enemy to Pompey, became his friend; and
though a friend to Caesar, he became his enemy. His
enmity and his friendship arose from the same princi-
ple, which was justice. But Dion, whilst in favor, em-
ployed his services for Dionysius; and it was not till
he was disgraced that he armed against him. Of course
his friends were not quite satisfied with his enterprise.
They were apprehensive that when he had destroyed
the tyrant he might seize the government himself, and
amuse the people with some softer title than that of
tyranny. On the other hand, the very enemies of Bru-
tus acknowlege that he was the only conspirator who
had no other view than that of restoring the ancient
form of government.
Besides, the enterprise against Dionysius cannot be
placed in competition with that against Caesar. The
former had rendered himself contemptible by his low-
manners, his drunkenness, and debauchery. But to
meditate the fall of Caesar, and not tremble at his dig-
nity, his fortune, or his power, nor shrink at that
name, which shook the kings of India and Parthia on
their thrones, and disturbed their slumbers; this
showed a superiority of soul, on which fear could
have no influence. Dion was no sooner seen in Sicily
than he was joined by thousands; bat the authority of
Ca? sar was so formidable in Rome, that it supported
his friends even after he was dead; and a simple boy
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? 196 , PLUTARCH.
rose to the first eminence of power by adopting his
name; which served as a charm against the envy and
the influence of Antony. Should it be objected that
Dion had the sharpest conflicts in expelling the tyrant,
but that Caesar fell naked and unguarded beneath the
sword of Brutus, it will argue at least a consummate
management and prudence to be able to come at a man
of his power naked and unguarded; particularly when
it is considered that the blow was not sudden, nor the
work of one, or of a few men, but meditated, and com-
municated to many associates, of whom not one de-
ceived the leader; for either he had the power of dis-
tinguishing honest men at the first view, or such as he
chose he made honest by the confidence he reposed in
them. But Dion confided in men of bad principles;
so that he must either have been injudicious in his
choice, or, if his people grew worse after their ap-
pointments, unskilful in his management. Neither of
these can be consistent with the talents and conduct of
a wise man; and Plato, accordingly, blames him in his
letters for making choice of such friends as, in the end,
were his ruin.
Dion found no friend to revenge his death; but Bru-
tus received an honorable interment, even from his
enemy Antony: and Caesar allowed that public rej
spect which was paid to his memory, as will appear
from the following circumstance. A statue of brass
had been erected to him at Milan, in Gallia Cisalpina,
which was a fine performance, and a striking likeness.
Caesar, as he passed through the town, took notice of
it, and summoning the magistrates, in the presence of
his attendants, be told them that they had broken the
league, by harboring one of his enemies. The magis-
trates, as may well be supposed, denied it, and stared
at each other, profoundly ignorant what enemy he
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? DIoN AND BRUTUS CoMPARED. 197
could mean. He then turned towards the statue, and,
knitting his hrows, said, 'Is not this my enemy that
stands here? ' The poor Milanese were struck dumb
with astonishment; but Ca;sar told them, with a smile,
that he was pleased to find them faithful to their friends
in adversity, and ordered that the statue should con-
tinue where it was.
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? ARTAXERXES.
THe first Artaxerxes, who of all the Persian kings
was most distinguished for his moderation and great-
ness of mind, was surnamed Longiraanus, because his
right hand was longer than his left. He was the son
of Xerxes. The second Artaxerxes, surnamed Mne-
mon, whose life we are going to write, was son to the
daughter of the first; for Darius, by his wife Pary-
satis, had four sons; Artaxerxes the elder, Cyrus the
second, and Ostanes and Oxathres, the two younger.
Cyrus was called after the ancient king of that name,
as he is said to have been after the sun; for the Per-
sians call the sun Cyrus. Artaxerxes at first was
named Arsicas, though Dinon asserts that his original
name was Cartes. But though Ctesias has filled his
books with a number of incredible and extravagant
fables, it is not probable that he should be ignorant
of the name of a king at whose court he lived, in
quality of physician to him, his wife, his mother, and
his children. <
Cyrus from his infancy was of a violent and impe-
tuous temper; but Artaxerxes had a native mildness,
something gentle and moderate in his whole dispo-
sition. The latter married a beautiful and virtuous
lady, by order of his parents, and he kept her when
they wanted him to put her away: for the king having
put her brother to death, designed that she should
share his fate. But Arsicas applied to his mother,
with many tears and intreaties, and, with much diffi-
culty, prevailed on her, not only to spare her life, but
to excuse him from divorcing her. Yet his mother had
the greater affection for Cyrus, and was desirous of
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? ARTAXERXES.
raising him to the throne: therefore, when he was
called from his residence on the coast in the sickness
of Darius, he returned full of hopes that the queen's
interest had established him successor. Parysatis had,
indeed, a specious pretence, which the ancient Xerxes
had made use of, at the suggestion of Demaratus, that
she had brought Darius his son Arsicas when he was
in a private station, but Cyrus when he was a king.
However, she could not prevail. Darius appointed
his eldest son his successor; on which occasion his
name was changed to Artaxerxes. Cyrus had the go-
vernment of Lydia, and was to be commander-in-chief
on the coast.
Soon after the death of Darius, the king, his suc-
cessor, went to Pasargada;, in order to be consecrated,
according to custom, by the priests of Persia. In that
city there is the temple of a goddess, who has the
affairs of war under her patronage, and therefore may
be supposed to be Minerva. The prince to be con-
secrated must enter that temple, put off his own robe
there, and take that which was worn by the great
Cyrus before he was king. He must eat a cake of
figs, chew some turpentine, and drink a cup of acidu-
lated milk. Whether there are any other ceremonies,
is unknown, except to the persons concerned. As
Artaxerxes was on the point of going to be consecrated,
Tissaphernes brought to him a priest, who had been
chief inspector of Cyrus' education in his infancy, and
had instructed him in the learning of the magi; and
therefore might be supposed to be as much concerned
as any man in Persia at his pupil's not being ap-
pointed king: for that reason his accusation against
Cyrus could not but gain credit. He accused him of a
design to lie in wait for the king in the temple, and,
after he had put off his garment, to fall on him and de-
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? 200
PLUTARCH.
stroy him. Some affirm that Cyrus was immediately
seized on this information; others, that he got into the
temple, and concealed himself there, but was pointed
out by the priest: in consequence of which he was to
be put to death ; but his mother, at that moment, took
him in her arms, bound the tresses of her hair about
him, held his neck to her own, and by her tears and
intreaties prevailed to have him pardoned, and re-
manded to the sea-coast. Nevertheless, he was far
from being satisfied with his government. Instead of
thinking of his brother's favor with gratitude, he re-
membered only the indignity of chains; and, in his
resentment, aspired more than ever after the sove-
reignty.
Some, indeed, say that he thought his allowance for
his table insufficient, and therefore revolted from his
king. But this is a foolish pretext: for if he had no
other resource, his mother would have supplied him
with whatever he wanted out of her revenues. Be-
sides, there needs no greater proof of his riches than
the number of foreign troops that he entertained in his
service, which were kept for him in various parts by
his friends and retainers: for, the better to conceal
his preparations, he did not keep his forces in a body,
but had his emissaries in different places, who enlisted
foreigners on various pretences. Meanwhile his mo-
ther, who lived at court, made it her business to re-
move the king's suspicions: and Cyrus himself always
wrote in a lenient style; sometimes begging a candid
interpretation, and sometimes recriminating on Tissa-
phernes, as if his contention had been solely with that
grandee. Add to this, that the king had a dilatory
turn of mind, which was natural to him, and which
many took for moderation. At first, indeed, he seemed
intirely to imitate the mildness of the first Artaxerxes,
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? ARTAXERXES.
201
whose name he bore, by behaving with great affability
to all that addressed him, and distributing honors and
rewards to persons of merit with a lavish hand. He
took care that punishments should never be embit-
tered with insult. If he received presents, he appeared
as well pleased as those who offered them, or rather
as those who received favors from him; and in con-
ferring favors, he always kept a countenance of benig-
nity and pleasure. There was not any thing, however
trifling, brought him by way of present, which he did
not receive kindly. Even when one Omisus brought
him a pomegranate of uncommon size, he said, ' By
the light of Mithra, this man, if he were made go-
vernor of a small city, would soon make it a great
one. ' When he was once on a journey, and people
presented him with a variety of things by the way, a
laboring man, having nothing else to give him, ran to
the river, and brought him some water in his hands.
Artaxerxes was so much pleased, that he sent the man
a gold cup, and a thousand darics. When Euclidas,
the Lacedaemonian, said many insolent things to him,
he contented himself with ordering the captain of his
guard to give him this answer, ' You may say what
you please to the king; but the king would have you
to know that he can not only say, but do. ' One day,
as he was hunting, Tiribazus showed him a rent in his
robe: on which the king said, ' What shall I do with
it? '--' Put on another, and give that to me,' said Tiri-
bazus. 'It shall be so,' said the king; ' I give it
thee; but I charge thee not to wear it. ' Tiribazus,
who, though not a bad man, was giddy and vain, dis-
regarding the restriction, soon put on the robe, and at
the same time tricked himself out with some golden
ornaments, fit only for queens. The court expressed
- great indignation, because it was a thing contrary to
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? 202
PLUTARCH.
their laws and customs: but the king only laughed,
and said to him, ' I allow thee to wear the trinkets as a
woman, and the robe as a madman. '
None had been admitted to the king of Persia's
table but his mother and his wife; the former of which
sat above him, and the latter below him: Artaxerxes,
nevertheless, did that honor to Ostanes and Oxathres,
two of his younger brothers. But what afforded the
Persians the most pleasing spectacle was the queen
Statira always riding in her chariot with the curtains
open, and admitting the women of the country to ap-
proach and salute her. These things made his admi-
nistration popular. Yet there were some turbulent and
factious men, who represented that the affairs of Persia
required a king of such a magnificent spirit, so able a
warrior, and so generous a master as Cyrus was; and
that the dignity of so great an empire could not be
supported without a prince of high thoughts and noble
ambition. It was not therefore without a confidence in
some of the Persians, as well as in the maritime pro-
vinces, that Cyrus undertook the war.
He wrote also to the Lacedaemonians for assistance;
promising that to the foot he would give horses, and to
the horsemen chariots: that on those who had farms
he would bestow villages, and on those who had vil-
lages, cities. As for their pay, he assured them it
should not be counted, but measured out to them. At
the same time he spoke in very high terms of himself,
telling them he had a greater and more princely heart
than his brother; that he was the better philosopher,
being instructed in the doctrines of the magi; and that
he could drink and bear more wine than his brother.
Artaxerxes, he said, was so timorous and effeminate a
man, that he could not sit a horse in hunting, nor a
chariot in time of war. The Lacedaemonians therefore
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? ARTAXERXES.
203
sent the scytale to Clearchus, with orders to serve
Cyrus in every thing he demanded.
Cyrus began his march against the king with a nu-
merous army of barbarians, and almost thirteen thou-
sand Greek mercenaries. He found one pretence after
another for having such an armament on foot; but his
real designs did not remain long undiscovered; for
Tissaphernes went in person to inform the king of
them.
This news put the court in great disorder. Parysatis
was censured as the principal cause of this war, and
her friends were suspected of a private intelligence
with Cyrus. Statira, in her distress about the war,
gave Parysatis the most trouble. 'Where is now,'
she cried, 'that faith which you pledged? Where
your intercessions, by which you saved the man that
was conspiring against his brother? Have they not
brought war and all its calamities on us V These ex-
postulations fixed in the heart of Parysatis, who was
naturally vindictive and barbarous in her resentment
and revenge, such a hatred of Statira, that she con-
trived to take her off. Dinon writes that this cruel
purpose was put in execution during the war: but
Ctesias assures us it was after it. And it is not pro-
bable that he, who was an eye-witness to the transac-
tions of that court, could either be ignorant of the time
when the assassination took place, or could have any
reason to misrepresent the date of it, though he often
deviates into fictitious tales, and loves to give us in-
vention instead of truth. We shall therefore leave
this story to the order of time in which he has placed
it.
While Cyrus was on his march, he had accounts
brought him that the king did not design to try the
fortune of the field by giving battle immediately, but
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? PLUTARCH.
to wait in Persia till his forces were assembled there
from all parts of his kingdom: and though he had
drawn a trench across the plain ten fathoms wide, as
many deep, and four hundred furlongs in length, yet
he suffered Cyrus to pass him, and to march almost to
Babylon. Tiribazus, we are told, was the first who
ventured to remonstrate to the king, that he ought not
any longer to avoid an action, nor to abandon Media,
Babylon, and even Susa, to the enemy, and hide him-
self in Persia, since he had an army infinitely greater
than theirs, and ten thousand satrapae and other offi-
cers, all of them superior to those of Cyrus both in
courage and conduct.
On this he took a resolution to come to action as
soon as possible. His sudden appearance with an army
of nine hundred thousand men, well prepared and ac-
coutred, extremely surprised the rebels; who, through
the confidence they had in themselves, and contempt
of their enemy, were marching in great confusion, and
even without their arms: so that it was with great dif-
ficulty that Cyrus reduced them to any order; and he
could not do it at last without much noise and tumult.
As the king advanced in silence, and at a slow pace,
the good discipline of his troops afforded an astonish-
ing spectacle to the Greeks, who expected amongst
such a multitude nothing but disorderly shouts and
motions, and every other instance of distraction and
confusion. He showed his judgment, too, in placing
the strongest of his armed chariots before that part of
his phalanx which was opposite to the Greeks, that, by
the impetuosity of their motion, they might break the
enemy's ranks before they came to close combat.
Many historians have described this battle; but Xe-
nophon has done it with such life and energy, that we
do not read an account of it--we see it, and feel all
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? AHTAXERXIiS.
205
the danger. It would be very absurd therefore to at-
tempt any thing after him, except the mentioning some
material circumstances which he has omitted.
The place where the battle was fought is called Cu-
naxa, and is five hundred furlongs from Babylon. A
little before the action Clearchus advised Cyrus to post
himself behind the Macedonians, and not risk his per-
son; on which he is reported to have said, 'What ad-
vice is this, Clearchus 1 Would you have me, at the
very time I am aiming at a crown, to show myself un-
worthy of one? ' Cyrus, indeed, committed an error
in rushing into the midst of the greatest danger without
care or caution; but Clearchus was guilty of another
as great, if not greater, in not consenting to place his
Greeks opposite to the king, and in getting the river
on his right, to prevent his being surrounded: for, if
safety was his principal object, and he was by all means
to avoid loss, he ought to have stayed at home. But
to carry his arms ten thousand furlongs from the sea,
without necessity or constraint, and solely with a view
to place Cyrus on the throne of Persia, and then not
to be solicitous for a post where he might best defend
the prince whose pay he received, but for one in which
he might act most at ease and in the greatest safety,
was to behave like a man who, on the sight of present
danger, abandons the whole enterprise, and forgets the
purpose of his expedition. For it appears from the
course of the action, that if the Greeks had charged
those that were posted about the king's person, they
would not have stood the shock; and after Artaxerxes
had been slain, or put to flight, the conqueror must
have gained the crown without farther interruption.
Therefore the ruin of Cyrus' affairs, and his death, is
much rather to be ascribed to the caution of Clearchus
than to his own rashness: for, if the king himself had
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