them mildly for not having waited for the word, and having fallen on the
enemy somewhat disorderly without waiting for the order, he promised
them if they were victorious to give up to them for plunder and profit
two cities, Thessalonica[568] and Lacedæmon. This is the only thing in
the life of Brutus which he is charged with that admits of no defence,
though Antonius and Cæsar paid to their soldiers a much more terrible
price as the reward of their victories, for they drove the old settlers
out of nearly the whole of Italy, that their soldiers might have land
and cities to which they had no claim. But with Antonius and Cæsar
dominion and power was the end which they proposed to themselves in the
war, while Brutus, owing to his reputation for virtue, was not allowed
by the many either to conquer or to save his life otherwise than by
honourable and just means; and especially now that Cassius was dead, who
had the imputation of urging Brutus on to some of his more violent acts.
But as at sea when the helm is broken, they attempt to nail on other
pieces of wood, and to fit them, not skilfully indeed, but as well as
they can under circumstances, fighting against the necessity, so Brutus
with so great a force around him, and in so hazardous a state of
affairs, having no commander of equal weight with himself, was compelled
to employ those who were with him, and to do and say many things
according to their pleasure. And he judged it fit to do whatever he
thought would improve the disposition of the soldiers of Cassius, for
they were difficult to manage: in the camp being unruly for want of
discipline, and towards the enemy having a feeling of cowardice by
reason of their defeat.
XLVII. Affairs were no better with Cæsar and Antonius, for they were
scantily supplied with provisions, and owing to the camp being pitched
in a hollow, they expected a bad winter. For being among marshes and the
autumnal rains coming on after the battle, they had their tents filled
with mud and with water which froze immediately through the cold. While
they were in this condition, news arrived of the misfortune that had
befallen their forces at sea. For the ships of Brutus[569] fell upon
them, and destroyed a large force that was coming to Cæsar from Italy,
and only a very few of the men escaped, who were compelled by famine to
eat the sails and ropes. On hearing this news they were eager to settle
the matter by a battle before Brutus was aware of the great good fortune
that had come to him; for it happened that in the same day the battle by
land and the battle by sea were determined. But by some chance rather
than through the fault of the commanders of the fleet, Brutus was
ignorant of the success, though twenty days had elapsed. For otherwise
he would not have gone out to a second battle when he was provided with
all necessaries for his army for a long time and was posted in a good
position, wherein he could have maintained his army in the winter free
from all suffering and safe against the attacks of the enemy, and by
being master of the sea, and having defeated by land the troops opposed
to him, was in high hopes and spirits. But affairs, as it appears, being
no longer governable by a number, and requiring a monarchy, the deity
wishing to lead away and to remove the only person who stood in the way
of him who was able to govern, cut off the news of that good fortune,
though it came exceeding near to being communicated to Brutus. For the
day before that on which he was going to fight, and late in the day,
there came one Clodius, a deserter from the enemy, who reported, that
Cæsar was eager to come to a decisive contest because he had heard of
the destruction of his armament. The man got no credit for his report
nor did he come into the presence of Brutus, being altogether despised
as one who had heard no well-founded news, or reported falsehood to get
favour.
XLVIII. In that night it is said that the phantom again appeared to
Brutus, and displaying the same appearance said nothing and went away.
But Publius Volumnius,[570] a philosopher and one who accompanied Brutus
in his campaign from the first, says that this was not the sign; but he
says that the first eagle was covered with bees, and from the arm of one
of the centurions an oil of roses spontaneously burst out, and though
they often rubbed it off and wiped it away, it was all to no use.
Further, before the battle, two eagles met and fought in the space
between the armies, and a silence past belief filled the plain while all
were looking on, but at last the eagle which was on the side of Brutus
gave way and fled. The Ethiopian became notorious, he who met the
eagle-bearer as soon as the gate was opened, and was cut down with their
swords by the soldiers, who considered it a bad omen.
XLIX. After Brutus had made the line advance, and had placed it in front
of the enemy, he paused some time, for suspicions reached him and
information against certain persons while he was inspecting the army;
and he observed that the cavalry were not very eager to begin the
battle, but were still waiting for the infantry to commence the attack.
All of a sudden, a man of military skill, who had been particularly
distinguished for his courage, rode past Brutus himself and passed over
to the enemy: his name was Camulatus. Brutus was greatly pained at
seeing this, and partly through passion, partly through fear of greater
change and treachery, he forthwith led his men against the enemy, the
sun now going down, to the ninth hour. Brutus had the advantage with his
own troops, and he pushed on, pressing upon the left wing of the enemy
which gave way, and the cavalry supported him by charging together with
the infantry the disordered ranks; but the other wing, which the
commanders extended for fear of being surrounded, was inferior in
numbers, and was drawn out in the centre, and thus becoming weak, did
not resist the enemy, but fled first. The enemy, having broken this
wing, immediately surrounded Brutus, who displayed all the virtues of a
general and a soldier, both in his personal exertions, and his prudent
measures in the midst of danger to secure victory; but he was damaged by
that circumstance whereby he gained advantage in the former battle. For
in that battle the part of the enemy which was defeated had perished;
but few perished of the troops of Cassius, though they were put to
flight, and those who escaped being very timid through their former
defeat, filled the chief part of the army with despondency and
confusion. On this occasion also, Marcus the son of Cato,[571] fighting
among the noblest and bravest of the youth, though hard pressed, did not
yield nor flee, but laying about him and calling out who he was, and his
father's name, he fell on a heap of the enemy's slain. There fell, too,
the bravest of the men, exposing themselves in defence of Brutus.
L. Among the intimates of Brutus was one Lucilius,[572] a good man.
Observing that some barbarian horsemen in their pursuit paid no regard
to the rest, but rode at full speed after Brutus, he resolved at his own
risk to stop them. And being a little in the rear he said that he was
Brutus, and he gained belief by praying them to take him to Antonius,
because he feared Cæsar, but trusted in Antonius. The barbarians
delighted at their success, and considering that they had surprising
good luck, conducted the man, and as it was now growing dark, sent
forward some of their number as messengers to Antonius. Antonius, much
pleased, went to meet those who were conducting Lucilius; and those who
heard that Brutus was being brought alive flocked together, some pitying
him for his ill fortune, and others thinking it unworthy of his fame to
let himself be taken by barbarians through love of life. When they were
near, Antonius stopped, being doubtful how he should receive Brutus, but
Lucilius, approaching with a cheerful countenance, said, "Antonius, no
enemy has taken Marcus Brutus, nor will: may fortune never have such a
victory over virtue. But he will be found, whether alive or dead, in a
condition worthy of himself. But I who have deceived your soldiers am
come to suffer, and I deprecate no punishment, however severe, for what
I have done." When Lucilius had said this, and all were in amaze,
Antonius, looking on those who conducted Lucilius, said, "I suppose,
fellow soldiers, you are vexed at your mistake, and think that you have
been grossly tricked. But be assured that you have taken a better prey
than that which you were in search of. For while you were seeking for an
enemy, you have brought us a friend; for as to Brutus, I know not by the
gods, what I should have done with him if he were alive, but such men as
this, I pray that I may have as friends rather than as enemies." Saying
this he embraced Lucilius and for the time placed him with one of his
friends, but he afterwards employed him, and found him in everything
faithful and true.
LI. Brutus, having crossed a certain stream, the banks of which were
lined with wood and steep, just when it began to be dark, did not
advance far, but seating himself in a hollow spot where there was a
large rock spread out, with a few of his officers and friends about him,
first looked up to the heavens which were full of stars, and uttered two
verses, one of which Volumnius has recorded:
"Forget not,[573] Jove, the author of these ills;"
but the other he says that he forgot. After a while naming each of his
companions who had fallen in battle before his eyes, he grieved most
over the memory of Flavius and Labeo. Labeo was his lieutenant, and
Flavius the chief of the engineers. In the meantime one who was thirsty
himself and saw that Brutus was in the same plight, took a helmet and
ran down to the river. As a noise from the opposite side reached their
ears, Volumnius went forward to see, and Dardanus the shield-bearer with
him. Returning after a while they asked about the water; and Brutus,
smiling with a very friendly expression on Volumnius, said, "It is drunk
up, but some more shall be brought for you." The same person was sent,
but he was in danger of being taken by the enemy and escaped with
difficulty after being wounded. As Brutus conjectured that no great
number of his men had fallen, Statyllius[574] undertook to make his way
secretly through the enemy, for it was not possible in any other way,
and to inspect the camp, and after raising a fire-signal, if he should
find all safe there, to come back to him. The fire-signal was raised,
for Statyllius got to the camp, but as a long time elapsed and he did
not return, Brutus said, "If Statyllius is alive he will come." But it
happened that, as he was returning, he fell among the enemy and was
killed.
LII.[575] In the course of the night, Brutus, as he sat on the ground,
turned to his slave Kleitus and spoke to him. But as Kleitus kept
silence and shed tears, Brutus drew to him his shield-bearer Dardanus,
and privately said something to him. At last employing the Greek
language he addressed Volumnius and reminded them of their
philosophical studies and discipline, and he urged him to put his hand
to his sword and to aid him in the thrust. Volumnius refusing, and the
rest being in the same disposition, and some one saying that they must
not stay there, but fly, Brutus sprang up and said, "Certainly we must
fly, yet not with the feet, but with the hands." Offering his right hand
to each with a cheerful countenance, he said that he felt great
pleasure, that no one of his friends had deceived him, but he blamed
fortune with respect to his country; as for himself, he considered that
he was happier than the conquerors, in that not yesterday nor yet
recently, but even now he left behind him a reputation for virtue, which
those would not leave behind who gained the victory by arms or by money,
nor would they make people think that unjust and vile men who had
destroyed just and upright men did not rule unmeritedly. After
entreating and urging them to save themselves, he retired a little
farther with two or three, among whom was Strato who had become intimate
with him from being his instructor in rhetoric. Putting Strato close to
him, and pressing the bare sword with both hands on the handle, he fell
upon it and died. Others say that it was not Brutus himself, but Strato
who, at the earnest request of Brutus, held the sword under him,
averting his eyes, and that Brutus throwing his breast upon it with
violence, and piercing it through, quickly died.
LIII. Messala[576] who was a friend of Brutus and became reconciled to
Cæsar, once on a time when Cæsar was at leisure, brought this Strato to
him, and with tears in his eyes said, "This, Cæsar, is the man who did
the last service to my Brutus." Cæsar received Strato and kept him about
him, and Strato was one of the Greeks who showed themselves brave men in
difficulties, and in the battle at Actium. They say that Messala himself
being afterwards commended by Cæsar because, though he had been one of
their greatest enemies at Philippi for the sake of Brutus, he had shown
himself most zealous at Actium, replied, "Yes, Cæsar, I have always been
on the better and juster side." When Antonius found the body of
Brutus,[577] he ordered it to be wrapped in the most costly of his
purple vests; and when he afterwards discovered that the purple vest was
stolen, he put the thief to death. The ashes he sent to Servilia, the
mother of Brutus. Nikolaus[578] the philosopher and Valerius
Maximus[579] relate that Porcia the wife of Brutus being desirous to
die, which none of her friends would allow, but kept close and watched
her, snatched burning embers from the fire, and closing her mouth, so
died. Yet there is extant a letter of Brutus[580] to his friends in
which he upbraids them and laments about Porcia, that she was neglected
by them and had determined to die because of her sufferings from
disease. Nikolaus therefore appears not to have known the time, since
the letter, if it is genuine, informs us of the malady, and the love of
the woman and the manner of her death.
COMPARISON OF DION AND BRUTUS.
I. Among the glories of these two men's lives, it is especially to be
noticed, that each of them started from small beginnings, and yet raised
himself to the highest position in the state; and this fact is
peculiarly honourable to Dion. Brutus owed much of his success to the
help of Cassius, who, though less trustworthy than Brutus in matters of
virtue and honour, gave equal proofs of courage, skill, and energy in
war, while some writers go so far as to give him the entire credit of
the plot against Cæsar, and say that Brutus had no share in it. Dion on
the other hand was obliged to provide himself with friends and fellow
conspirators, no less than with arms, ships, and soldiers. Furthermore,
Dion did not, like Brutus, gain wealth and power by the revolution and
war which he began, but even gave his own money to support the war, and
spent the property on which he might have lived comfortably in exile in
order to make his countrymen free. We must remember, also, that Brutus
and Cassius could not have remained quiet after they left Rome, for they
had been condemned to death, and were being pursued, so that they were
forced to fight in their own defence. When they risked their lives in
battle it was for themselves that they did so more than for their
countrymen, whereas Dion lived in exile more happily than the despot who
banished him, and nevertheless exposed himself to so terrible a hazard
in order to set Sicily free.
II. Yet it was not the same thing to free the Syracusans from Dionysius
and to rid the Romans of Cæsar. Dionysius never denied that he was a
despot, and had inflicted countless miseries upon Sicily: while the
government of Cæsar, though its creation gave great offence, yet when
it had been accepted and had overcome all opposition seemed to be a
despotism merely in name, for Cæsar did nothing cruel or arbitrary, and
rather appeared to have been sent by heaven like a physician, to
establish an absolute monarchy in as mild a form as possible, at a time
when that remedy was necessary for Rome. In consequence of this the
people of Rome were grieved at the death of Cæsar, and showed themselves
harsh and inexorable to his murderers; while the severest charges which
were brought against Dion by his countrymen were that he had allowed
Dionysius to escape from Syracuse, and that he had not destroyed the
tomb of the former despot.
III. In actual warfare Dion proved himself a faultless general, as he
succeeded brilliantly in every enterprise planned by himself, and was
able to remedy the failures caused by the misconduct of others; while
Brutus seems not to have been wise in engaging in the last decisive
battle, and when it was lost did not attempt to retrieve his fortunes,
but gave himself up to despair, showing even less confidence than
Pompeius. Yet, his position was far from hopeless, for he still retained
a large part of his army, and a fleet which gave him entire command of
the sea. Again, Dion cannot be accused of any crime like that which is
the greatest blot upon the character of Brutus, who after his life had
been saved by Cæsar's goodness, and he had been allowed to save as many
as he pleased of his fellow captives, after also he had been regarded by
Cæsar as his friend, and had been promoted by Cæsar above many others,
murdered his benefactor. On the contrary, Dion was the relative and
friend of Dionysius, and assisted him in maintaining his government, and
it was not until he was expelled from his country, his wife wronged, and
his property confiscated, that he openly began a most just and lawful
war against the despot. Is there not, however, another view of this
question? That hatred of despotism and wrong which is so highly
honoured, was possessed by Brutus pure and unalloyed by personal
motives, for he had no private grudge against Cæsar, and yet risked his
life on behalf of the liberty of the people: while Dion would never have
made war against Dionysius, if he had not been wronged by him. This we
learn distinctly from Plato's letters, which prove that Dion did not
begin his revolt until he was banished by Dionysius, after which, he
deposed the tyrant. A common object made Brutus become the friend of
Pompeius, who was Cæsar's enemy both personally and politically, for
Brutus made men his friends or his enemies solely according to what he
thought right: while Dion assisted Dionysius much while he was on
friendly terms with him, and only made war against him out of anger at
his loyalty being suspected. For this reason many even of his own
friends believed that after removing Dionysius from the throne he
intended to succeed him, and to reign though under some title more
plausible than that of despot; while even the enemies of Brutus admitted
that he alone of all the conspirators against Cæsar kept one object
consistently in view, which was to restore to the Romans their ancient
constitution.
IV. Apart from these considerations the struggle against Dionysius was
different from that against Cæsar. Dionysius was despised even by his
own associates for wasting all his time with drink, dice, and women;
whereas it shows a certain magnanimity, and a spirit undismayed by any
danger, to have conceived the idea of dethroning Cæsar, and not to have
been overawed by the wisdom, power, and good fortune of a man whose very
name made the kings of Parthia and India uneasy in their sleep. As soon
as Dion appeared in Sicily, thousands joined him to attack Dionysius,
while the power of Cæsar's name even after his death rallied his
friends, and enabled a helpless child to become at once the first of the
Romans by assuming it, as though it were a talisman to protect him
against the might and hatred of Antonius. If it be said that Dion only
drove out Dionysius after many fierce battles, whereas Brutus stabbed
Cæsar when he was naked and unguarded, yet it was in itself a brilliant
piece of generalship to have attacked so powerful a man when he was
naked and unguarded: for he did not attack him on a sudden impulse, or
alone, or even with a few associates; but the plot had been laid long
before, and many were concerned in it, yet none betrayed him. Either he
chose only the bravest men, or else the mere fact of their having been
chosen and trusted by Brutus made them brave. Dion on the other hand
trusted worthless men; and this is discreditable to his judgment, for
they must either have been villains when he chose them for his
followers, or else they must have been originally good, and have become
worse during their connection with him. Plato indeed blames him for
choosing such men for his friends, and at last he was murdered by them.
V. No one avenged the murder of Dion; but Antonius, though Brutus's
enemy, nevertheless buried him with honour, and Cæsar (Augustus) allowed
the honours which were paid to his memory to remain untouched. A brazen
statue of Brutus stands in the city of Milan, in Gaul, on this side of
the Alps. When Augustus saw this, which was a good likeness and a
capital piece of workmanship, he passed by it, but stopped shortly
afterwards, and before a large audience called for the magistrates of
the city, and told them that he had caught them in the act of breaking
the peace by harbouring his enemy within their walls. They at first, as
may be imagined, denied the charge, and looked at one another, not
knowing to whom he alluded. Augustus now turned round towards the
statue, and, knitting his brows, asked, "Is not this my enemy who stands
here?" At this the magistrates were even more abashed, and remained
silent. Augustus, however, smilingly commended the Gauls for remaining
true to their friends in misfortune, and ordered the statue to be left
where it stood.
LIFE OF ARTAXERXES.
I. The first Artaxerxes, who surpassed all the kings of Persia in
mildness and magnanimity of character, was surnamed Longhand, because
his right hand was larger than his left. He was the son of Xerxes; and
Artaxerxes the Second, the subject of this memoir, who was surnamed
Mnemon, was the son of the former's daughter: for Darius and Parysatis
had four children, of whom the eldest was named Artaxerxes, the next
Cyrus, and the two younger ones Ostanes and Oxathres.
Cyrus was named after the ancient king of that name, who is said to have
been taken from the sun; for the Persians are said to call the sun
Cyrus. Artaxerxes was originally named Arsikas, although the historian
Deinon states that he was named Oarses. Still Ktesias, although his
writings are full of all kinds of absurd and incredible tales, must be
supposed to know the name of the king at whose court he lived, acting as
physician to him, his mother and his wife.
II. Cyrus from his earliest youth displayed a determined and vehement
disposition, while his brother was gentler in all respects and less
passionate in his desires. He married a fair and virtuous wife at his
parents' command, and kept her against their will, for the king killed
her brother, and wished to put her also to death, but Arsikas, by tears
and entreaties, prevailed upon his mother to spare her life, and not to
separate her from him. His mother, however, always loved Cyrus more than
Artaxerxes, and wished him to become king instead of his brother. For
this reason, when Cyrus was sent for from the coast during his father's
last illness, he went to court with great expectations, imagining that
she had managed to have him declared heir to the throne. Indeed,
Parysatis had a good argument for doing so, which had formerly, at the
suggestion of Demaratus, been acted upon by the old king Xerxes; namely,
that when Arsikas was born, Darius was merely a private man, but that
when Cyrus was born he was a king. However, Parysatis did not succeed in
inducing the king to declare Cyrus his heir, but the eldest son was
proclaimed king and his name changed to Artaxerxes, while Cyrus was
appointed satrap of Lydia and ruler of the provinces on the sea coast.