THE BATTLE OF PHILIPPI.
Consternation at Rome.--Caesar's will.--Brutus and Cassius.--Parties
formed.--Octavius and Lepidus.--Character of Octavius.--Octavius
proceeds to Rome.--He claims his rights as heir.--Lepidus takes command
of the army.--The triumvirate.--Conference between Octavius, Lepidus,
and Antony.--Embassage to Cleopatra.--Her decision.--Cassius abandons
his designs.--Approach of the triumvirs.--The armies meet at Philippi.
--Sickness of Octavius.--Difference of opinion between Brutus and
Cassius.--Council of war.--Decision of the council.--Brutus greatly
elated.--Despondency of Cassius.--Preparations for battle.--Resolution
of Brutus to die.--Similar resolve of Cassius.--Omens.--Their influence
upon Cassius.--The swarms of bees.--Warnings received by Brutus.--The
spirit seen by Brutus.--His conversation with it.--Battle of
Philippi.--Defeat of Octavius.--Defeat of Cassius.--Brutus goes to his
aid--Death of Cassius.--Grief of Brutus.--Defeat of Brutus.--His
retreat.--Situation of Brutus in the glen.--The helmet of water.--Brutus
surrounded.--Proposal of Statilius.--Anxiety and suspense.--Resolution
of Brutus.--Brutus's farewell to his friends.--The last duty.--Death of
Brutus.--Situation of Antony.
When the tidings of the assassination of Caesar were first announced to
the people of Rome, all ranks and classes of men were struck with
amazement and consternation. No one knew what to say or do. A very large
and influential portion of the community had been Caesar's friends. It
was equally certain that there was a very powerful interest opposed to
him. No one could foresee which of these two parties would now carry the
day, and, of course, for a time, all was uncertainty and indecision.
Mark Antony came forward at once, and assumed the position of Caesar's
representative and the leader of the party on that side. A will was
found among Caesar's effects, and when the will was opened it appeared
that large sums of money were left to the Roman people, and other large
amounts to a nephew of the deceased, named Octavius, who will be more
particularly spoken of hereafter. Antony was named in the will as the
executor of it. This and other circumstances seemed to authorize him to
come forward as the head and the leader of the Caesar party. Brutus and
Cassius, who remained openly in the city after their desperate deed had
been performed, were the acknowledged leaders of the other party; while
the mass of the people were at first so astounded at the magnitude and
suddenness of the revolution which the open and public assassination of
a Roman emperor by a Roman Senate denoted, that they knew not what to
say or do. In fact, the killing of Julius Caesar, considering the exalted
position which he occupied, the rank and station of the men who
perpetrated the deed, and the very extraordinary publicity of the scene
in which the act was performed, was, doubtless, the most conspicuous and
most appalling case of assassination that has ever occurred. The whole
population of Rome seemed for some days to be amazed and stupefied by
the tidings. At length, however, parties began to be more distinctly
formed. The lines of demarkation between them were gradually drawn, and
men began to arrange themselves more and more unequivocally on the
opposite sides.
For a short time the supremacy of Antony over the Caesar party was
readily acquiesced in and allowed. At length, however, and before his
arrangements were finally matured, he found that he had two formidable
competitors upon his own side. These were Octavius and Lepidus.
Octavius, who was the nephew of Caesar, already alluded to, was a very
accomplished and elegant young man, now about nineteen years of age. He
was the son of Julius Caesar's niece.[1]
[Footnote 1: This Octavius on his subsequent elevation to
imperial power, received the name of Augustus Caesar, and it is
by this name that he is generally known in history. He was,
however, called Octavius at the commencement of his career,
and, to avoid confusion, we shall continue to designate him by
this name to the end of our narrative.]
He had always been a great favorite with his uncle. Every possible
attention had been paid to his education, and he had been advanced by
Caesar, already, to positions of high importance in public life. Caesar,
in fact, adopted him as his son, and made him his heir. At the time of
Caesar's death he was at Apollonia, a city of Illyricum, north of Greece.
The troops under his command there offered to march at once with him, if
he wished it, to Rome, and avenge his uncle's death. Octavius, after
some hesitation, concluded that it would be most prudent for him to
proceed thither first himself, alone, as a private person, and demand
his rights as his uncle's heir, according to the provisions of the will.
He accordingly did so. He found, on his arrival, that the will, the
property, the books and parchments, and the substantial power of the
government, were all in Antony's hands. Antony, instead of putting
Octavius into possession of his property and rights, found various
pretexts for evasion and delay. Octavius was too young yet, he said, to
assume such weighty responsibilities. He was himself also too much
pressed with the urgency of public affairs to attend to the business of
the will. With these and similar excuses as his justification, Antony
seemed inclined to pay no regard whatever to Octavius's claims.
Octavius, young as he was, possessed a character that was marked with
great intelligence, spirit, and resolution. He soon made many powerful
friends in the city of Rome and among the Roman Senate. It became a
serious question whether he or Antony would gain the greatest ascendency
in the party of Caesar's friends. The contest for this ascendency was, in
fact, protracted for two or three years, and led to a vast complication
of intrigues, and maneuvers, and civil wars, which can not, however, be
here particularly detailed.
The other competitor which Antony had to contend with was a
distinguished Roman general named Lepidus. Lepidus was an officer of the
army, in very high command at the time of Caesar's death. He was present
in the senate-chamber on the day of the assassination. He stole secretly
away when he saw that the deed was done, and repaired to the camp of the
army without the city and immediately assumed the command of the forces.
This gave him great power, and in the course of the contests which
subsequently ensued between Antony and Octavius, he took an active part,
and held in some measure the balance between them. At length the contest
was finally closed by a coalition of the three rivals. Finding that they
could not either of them gain a decided victory over the others, they
combined together, and formed the celebrated _triumvirate_, which
continued afterward for some time to wield the supreme command in the
Roman world. In forming this league of reconciliation, the three rivals
held their conference on an island situated in one of the branches of
the Po, in the north of Italy. They manifested extreme jealousy and
suspicion of each other in coming to this interview. Two bridges were
built leading to the island, one from each bank of the stream. The army
of Antony was drawn up upon one side of the river, and that of Octavius
upon the other. Lepidus went first to the island by one of the bridges.
After examining the ground carefully, to make himself sure that it
contained no ambuscade, he made a signal to the other generals, who then
came over, each advancing by his own bridge, and accompanied by three
hundred guards, who remained upon the bridge to secure a retreat for
their masters in case of treachery. The conference lasted three days, at
the expiration of which time the articles were all agreed upon and
signed.
This league being formed, the three confederates turned their united
force against the party of the conspirators. Of this party Brutus and
Cassius were still at the head.
The scene of the contests between Octavius, Antony, and Lepidus had been
chiefly Italy and the other central countries of Europe. Brutus and
Cassius, on the other hand, had gone across the Adriatic Sea into the
East immediately after Caesar's assassination. They were now in Asia
Minor, and were employed in concentrating their forces, forming
alliances with the various Eastern powers, raising troops, bringing over
to their side the Roman legions which were stationed in that quarter of
the world, seizing magazines, and exacting contributions from all who
could be induced to favor their cause. Among other embassages which they
sent, one went to Egypt to demand aid from Cleopatra. Cleopatra,
however, was resolved to join the other side in the contest. It was
natural that she should feel grateful to Caesar for his efforts and
sacrifices in her behalf, and that she should be inclined to favor the
cause of his friends. Accordingly, instead of sending troops to aid
Brutus and Cassius, as they had desired her to do, she immediately
fitted out an expedition to proceed to the coast of Asia, with a view of
rendering all the aid in her power to Antony's cause.
Cassius, on his part, finding that Cleopatra was determined on joining
his enemies, immediately resolved on proceeding at once to Egypt and
taking possession of the country. He also stationed a military force at
Taenarus, the southern promontory of Greece, to watch for and intercept
the fleet of Cleopatra as soon as it should appear on the European
shores. All these plans, however--both those which Cleopatra formed
against Cassius, and those which Cassius formed against her--failed of
accomplishment. Cleopatra's fleet encountered a terrible storm, which
dispersed and destroyed it. A small remnant was driven upon the coast of
Africa, but nothing could be saved which could be made available for the
purpose intended. As for Cassius's intended expedition to Egypt, it was
not carried into effect. The dangers which began now to threaten him
from the direction of Italy and Rome were so imminent, that, at Brutus's
urgent request, he gave up the Egyptian plan, and the two generals
concentrated their forces to meet the armies of the triumvirate which
were now rapidly advancing to attack them. They passed for this purpose
across the Hellespont from Sestos to Abydos, and entered Thrace.
After various marches and countermarches, and a long succession of those
maneuvers by which two powerful armies, approaching a contest, endeavor
each to gain some position of advantage against the other, the various
bodies of troops belonging, respectively, to the two powers, came into
the vicinity of each other near Philippi. Brutus and Cassius arrived
here first. There was a plain in the neighborhood of the city, with a
rising ground in a certain portion of it. Brutus took possession of this
elevation, and intrenched himself there. Cassius posted his forces about
three miles distant, near the sea. There was a line of intrenchments
between the two camps, which formed a chain of communication by which
the positions of the two commanders were connected. The armies were thus
very advantageously posted. They had the River Strymon and a marsh on
the left of the ground that they occupied, while the plain was before
them, and the sea behind. Here they awaited the arrival of their foes.
Antony, who was at this time at Amphipolis, a city not far distant from
Philippi, learning that Brutus and Cassius had taken their positions in
anticipation of an attack, advanced immediately and encamped upon the
plain. Octavius was detained by sickness at the city of Dyrrachium, not
very far distant. Antony waited for him. It was ten days before he came.
At length he arrived, though in coming he had to be borne upon a litter,
being still too sick to travel in any other way. Antony approached, and
established his camp opposite to that of Cassius, near the sea, while
Octavius took post opposite to Brutus. The four armies then paused,
contemplating the probable results of the engagement that was about to
ensue.
The forces on the two sides were nearly equal; but on the Republican
side, that is, on the part of Brutus and Cassius, there was great
inconvenience and suffering for want of a sufficient supply of
provisions and stores. There was some difference of opinion between
Brutus and Cassius in respect to what it was best for them to do. Brutus
was inclined to give the enemy battle. Cassius was reluctant to do so,
since, under the circumstances in which they were placed, he considered
it unwise to hazard, as they necessarily must do, the whole success of
their cause to the chances of a single battle. A council of war was
convened, and the various officers were asked to give their opinions. In
this conference, one of the officers having recommended to postpone the
conflict to the next winter, Brutus asked him what advantage he hoped to
attain by such delay. "If I gain nothing else," replied the officer, "I
shall live so much the longer." This answer touched Cassius's pride and
military sense of honor. Rather than concur in a counsel which was thus,
on the part of one of its advocates at least, dictated by what he
considered an inglorious love of life, he preferred to retract his
opinion. It was agreed by the council that the army should maintain its
ground and give the enemy battle. The officers then repaired to their
respective camps.
Brutus was greatly pleased at this decision. To fight the battle had
been his original desire, and as his counsels had prevailed, he was, of
course, gratified with the prospect for the morrow. He arranged a
sumptuous entertainment in his tent, and invited all the officers of his
division of the army to sup with him. The party spent the night in
convivial pleasures, and in mutual congratulations at the prospect of
the victory which, as they believed, awaited them on the morrow. Brutus
entertained his guests with brilliant conversation all the evening, and
inspired them with his own confident anticipations of success in the
conflict which was to ensue.
Cassius, on the other hand, in his camp by the sea, was silent and
desponding. He supped privately with a few intimate friends. On rising
from the table, he took one of his officers aside, and, pressing his
hand, said to him that he felt great misgivings in respect to the result
of the contest. "It is against my judgment," said he, "that we thus
hazard the liberty of Rome on the event of one battle, fought under such
circumstances as these. Whatever is the result, I wish you to bear me
witness hereafter that I was forced into this measure by circumstances
that I could not control. I suppose, however, that I ought to take
courage, notwithstanding the reasons that I have for these gloomy
forebodings. Let us, therefore, hope for the best; and come and sup with
me again to-morrow night. To-morrow is my birth-day."
The next morning, the scarlet mantle--the customary signal displayed in
Roman camps on the morning of a day of battle--was seen at the tops of
the tents of the two commanding generals, waving there in the air like a
banner. While the troops, in obedience to this signal, were preparing
themselves for the conflict, the two generals went to meet each other at
a point midway between their two encampments, for a final consultation
and agreement in respect to the arrangements of the day. When this
business was concluded, and they were about to separate, in order to
proceed each to his own sphere of duty, Cassius asked Brutus what he
intended to do in case the day should go against them. "We hope for the
best," said he, "and pray that the gods may grant us the victory in this
most momentous crisis. But we must remember that it is the greatest and
the most momentous of human affairs that are always the most uncertain,
and we can not foresee what is to-day to be the result of the battle. If
it goes against us, what do you intend to do? Do you intend to escape,
or to die?"
"When I was a young man," said Brutus, in reply, "and looked at this
subject only as a question of theory, I thought it wrong for a man ever
to take his own life. However great the evils that threatened him, and
however desperate his condition, I considered it his duty to live, and
to wait patiently for better times. But now, placed in the position in
which I am, I see the subject in a different light. If we do not gain
the battle this day, I shall consider all hope and possibility of saving
our country forever gone, and I shall not leave the field of battle
alive."
Cassius, in his despondency, had made the same resolution for himself
before, and he was rejoiced to hear Brutus utter these sentiments. He
grasped his colleague's hand with a countenance expressive of the
greatest animation and pleasure, and bade him farewell, saying, "We will
go out boldly to face the enemy. For we are certain either that we shall
conquer them, or that we shall have nothing to fear from their victory
over us."
Cassius's dejection, and the tendency of his mind to take a despairing
view of the prospects of the cause in which he was engaged, were owing,
in some measure, to certain unfavorable omens which he had observed.
These omens, though really frivolous and wholly unworthy of attention,
seem to have had great influence upon him, notwithstanding his general
intelligence, and the remarkable strength and energy of his character.
They were as follows:
In offering certain sacrifices, he was to wear, according to the usage
prescribed on such occasions, a garland of flowers, and it happened that
the officer who brought the garland, by mistake or accident, presented
it wrong side before. Again, in some procession which was formed, and in
which a certain image of gold, made in honor of him, was borne, the
bearer of it stumbled and fell, and the image was thrown upon the
ground. This was a very dark presage of impending calamity. Then a great
number of vultures and other birds of prey were seen for a number of
days before the battle, hovering over the Roman army; and several swarms
of bees were found within the precincts of the camp. So alarming was
this last indication, that the officers altered the line of the
intrenchments so as to shut out the ill-omened spot from the camp. These
and other such things had great influence upon the mind of Cassius, in
convincing him that some great disaster was impending over him.
Nor was Brutus himself without warnings of this character, though they
seem to have had less power to produce any serious impression upon his
mind than in the case of Cassius. The most extraordinary warning which
Brutus received, according to the story of his ancient historians, was
by a supernatural apparition which he saw, some time before, while he
was in Asia Minor. He was encamped near the city of Sardis at that time.
He was always accustomed to sleep very little, and would often, it was
said, when all his officers had retired, and the camp was still, sit
alone in his tent, sometimes reading, and sometimes revolving the
anxious cares which were always pressing upon his mind. One night he was
thus alone in his tent, with a small lamp burning before him, sitting
lost in thought, when he suddenly heard a movement as of some one
entering the tent. He looked up, and saw a strange, unearthly, and
monstrous shape, which appeared to have just entered the door and was
coming toward him. The spirit gazed upon him as it advanced, but it did
not speak.
Brutus, who was not much accustomed to fear, boldly demanded of the
apparition who and what it was, and what had brought it there. "I am
your evil spirit," said the apparition. "I shall meet you at Philippi."
"Then, it seems," said Brutus, "that, at any rate, I shall see you
again." The spirit made no reply to this, but immediately vanished.
Brutus arose, went to the door of his tent, summoned the sentinels, and
awakened the soldiers that were sleeping near. The sentinels had seen
nothing; and, after the most diligent search, no trace of the mysterious
visitor could be found.
The next morning Brutus related to Cassius the occurrence which he had
witnessed. Cassius, though very sensitive, it seems, to the influence of
omens affecting himself, was quite philosophical in his views in respect
to those of other men. He argued very rationally with Brutus to convince
him that the vision which he had seen was only a phantom of sleep,
taking its form and character from the ideas and images which the
situation in which Brutus was then placed, and the fatigue and anxiety
which he had endured, would naturally impress upon his mind.
But to return to the battle. Brutus fought against Octavius; while
Cassius, two or three miles distant, encountered Antony, that having
been, as will be recollected, the disposition of the respective armies
and their encampments upon the plain. Brutus was triumphantly successful
in his part of the field. His troops defeated the army of Octavius, and
got possession of his camp. The men forced their way into Octavius's
tent, and pierced the litter in which they supposed that the sick
general was lying through and through with their spears. But the object
of their desperate hostility was not there. He had been borne away by
his guards a few minutes before, and no one knew what had become of him.
The result of the battle was, however, unfortunately for those whose
adventures we are now more particularly following, very different in
Cassius's part of the field. When Brutus, after completing the conquest
of his own immediate foes, returned to his elevated camp, he looked
toward the camp of Cassius, and was surprised to find that the tents had
disappeared. Some of the officers around perceived weapons glancing and
glittering in the sun in the place where Cassius's tents ought to
appear. Brutus now suspected the truth, which was, that Cassius had been
defeated, and his camp had fallen into the hands of the enemy. He
immediately collected together as large a force as he could command, and
marched to the relief of his colleague. He found him, at last, posted
with a small body of guards and attendants upon the top of a small
elevation to which he had fled for safety. Cassius saw the troop of
horsemen which Brutus sent forward coming toward him, and supposed that
it was a detachment from Antony's army advancing to capture him. He,
however, sent a messenger forward to meet them, and ascertain whether
they were friends or foes. The messenger, whose name was Titinius, rode
down. The horsemen recognized Titinius, and, riding up eagerly around
him, they dismounted from their horses to congratulate him on his
safety, and to press him with inquiries in respect to the result of the
battle and the fate of his master.
Cassius, seeing all this, but not seeing it very distinctly, supposed
that the troop of horsemen were enemies, and that they had surrounded
Titinius, and had cut him down or made him prisoner. He considered it
certain, therefore, that all was now finally lost. Accordingly, in
execution of a plan which he had previously formed, he called a servant,
named Pindarus, whom he directed to follow him, and went into a tent
which was near. When Brutus and his horsemen came up, they entered the
tent. They found no living person within; but the dead body of Cassius
was there, the head being totally dissevered from it. Pindarus was never
afterward to be found.
Brutus was overwhelmed with grief at the death of his colleague; he was
also oppressed by it with a double burden of responsibility and care,
since now the whole conduct of affairs devolved upon him alone. He found
himself surrounded with difficulties which became more and more
embarrassing every day. At length he was compelled to fight a second
battle. The details of the contest itself we can not give, but the
result of it was, that, notwithstanding the most unparalleled and
desperate exertions made by Brutus to keep his men to the work, and to
maintain his ground, his troops were borne down and overwhelmed by the
irresistible onsets of his enemies, and his cause was irretrievably and
hopelessly ruined.
When Brutus found that all was lost, he allowed himself to be conducted
off the field by a small body of guards, who, in their retreat, broke
through the ranks of the enemy on a side where they saw that they should
meet with the least resistance. They were, however, pursued by a
squadron of horse, the horsemen being eager to make Brutus a prisoner.
In this emergency, one of Brutus's friends, named Lucilius, conceived
the design of pretending to be Brutus, and, as such, surrendering
himself a prisoner. This plan he carried into effect. When the troop
came up, he called out for quarter, said that he was Brutus, and begged
them to spare his life, and to take him to Antony. The men did so,
rejoiced at having, as they imagined, secured so invaluable a prize.
In the mean time, the real Brutus pressed on to make his escape. He
crossed a brook which came in his way, and entered into a little dell,
which promised to afford a hiding-place, since it was encumbered with
precipitous rocks and shaded with trees. A few friends and officers
accompanied Brutus in his flight. Night soon came on, and he lay down in
a little recess under a shelving rock, exhausted with fatigue and
suffering. Then, raising his eyes to heaven, he imprecated, in lines
quoted from a Greek poet, the just judgment of God upon the foes who
were at that hour triumphing in what he considered the ruin of his
country.
He then, in his anguish and despair, enumerated by name the several
friends and companions whom he had seen fall that day in battle,
mourning the loss of each with bitter grief. In the mean time, night was
coming on, and the party, concealed thus in the wild dell, were
destitute and unsheltered. Hungry and thirsty, and spent with fatigue as
they were, there seemed to be no prospect for them of either rest or
refreshment. Finally they sent one of their number to steal softly back
to the rivulet which they had crossed in their retreat, to bring them
some water. The soldier took his helmet to bring the water in for want
of any other vessel. While Brutus was drinking the water which they
brought, a noise was heard in the opposite direction. Two of the
officers were sent to ascertain the cause. They came back soon,
reporting that there was a party of the enemy in that quarter. They
asked where the water was which had been brought. Brutus told them that
it had all been drunk, but that he would send immediately for more. The
messenger went accordingly to the brook again, but he came back very
soon, wounded and bleeding, and reported that the enemy was close upon
them on that side too, and that he had narrowly escaped with his life.
The apprehensions of Brutus's party were greatly increased by these
tidings; it was evident that all hope of being able to remain long
concealed where they were must fast disappear.
One of the officers, named Statilius, then proposed to make the attempt
to find his way out of the snare in which they had become involved. He
would go, he said, as cautiously as possible, avoiding all parties of
the enemy, and being favored by the darkness of the night, he hoped to
find some way of retreat. If he succeeded, he would display a torch on a
distant elevation which he designated, so that the party in the glen, on
seeing the light, might be assured of his safety. He would then return
and guide them all through the danger, by the way which he should have
discovered.
This plan was approved, and Statilius accordingly departed. In due time
the light was seen burning at the place which had been pointed out, and
indicating that Statilius had accomplished his undertaking. Brutus and
his party were greatly cheered by the new hope which this result
awakened. They began to watch and listen for their messenger's return.
They watched and waited long, but he did not come. On the way back he
was intercepted and slain.
When at length all hope that he would return was finally abandoned, some
of the party, in the course of the despairing consultations which the
unhappy fugitives held with one another, said that they _must not_
remain any longer where they were, but must make their escape from that
spot at all hazards. "Yes," said Brutus, "we must indeed make our escape
from our present situation, but we must do it with our hands, and not
with our feet." He meant by this that the only means now left to them to
evade their enemies was self-destruction. When his friends understood
that this was his meaning, and that he was resolved to put this design
into execution in his own case, they were overwhelmed with sorrow.
Brutus took them, one by one, by the hand and bade them farewell. He
thanked them for their fidelity in adhering to his cause to the last,
and said that it was a source of great comfort and satisfaction to him
that all his friends had proved so faithful and true. "I do not complain
of my hard fate," he added, "so far as I myself am concerned. I mourn
only for my unhappy country. As to myself, I think that my condition
even now is better than that of my enemies; for though I die, posterity
will do me justice, and I shall enjoy forever the honor which virtue and
integrity deserve; while they, though they live, live only to reap the
bitter fruits of injustice and of tyranny.
"After I am gone," he continued, addressing his friends, as before,
"think no longer of me, but take care of yourselves. Antony, I am sure,
will be satisfied with Cassius's death and mine. He will not be disposed
to pursue you vindictively any longer. Make peace with him on the best
terms that you can."
Brutus then asked first one and then another of his friends to aid him
in the last duty, as he seems to have considered it, of destroying his
life; but one after another declared that they could not do any thing to
assist him in carrying into effect so dreadful a determination. Finally,
he took with him an old and long-tried friend named Strato, and went
away a little, apart from the rest. Here he solicited once more the
favor which had been refused him before,--begging that Strato would hold
out his sword. Strato still refused. Brutus then called one of his
slaves. Upon this Strato declared that he would do any thing rather than
that Brutus should die by the hand of a slave. He took the sword, and
with his right hand held it extended in the air. With the left hand he
covered his eyes, that he might not witness the horrible spectacle.
Brutus rushed upon the point of the weapon with such fatal force that
he fell and immediately expired.
Thus ended the great and famous battle of Philippi, celebrated in
history as marking the termination of the great conflict between the
friends and the enemies of Caesar, which agitated the world so deeply
after the conqueror's death. This battle established the ascendency of
Antony, and made him for a time the most conspicuous man, as Cleopatra
was the most conspicuous woman, in the world.