126. Octavius and Antony rode through their own ranks shaking hands with those nearest them, and urging them in the most serious manner to do their duty, and not concealing the danger of famine, because they believed that that would be the greatest incitement to bravery. “Soldiers,” they said, “we have found the enemy. We have before us those whom we sought to catch outside of their fortifications. Let none of you shame his own challenge or prove unequal to his own threat. Let no one prefer hunger, that unmanageable and distressing evil, to the walls and bodies of the enemy which they will yield to bravery, to the sword, to despair. Our situation at this moment is so pressing that nothing can be postponed till to-morrow, but this very day must decide for us either a complete victory or an honorable death. If we conquer we gain in one day and by one blow provisions, money, ships, and camps, and the prizes of victory offered by ourselves. Such will be the result if, from our first onset upon them, we are mindful of the necessity urging us on, and if, after breaking their ranks, we immediately cut them off from their gates and drive them upon the rocks or into the plain, so that the war may not spring up again or these enemies get away for another period of idleness — the only warriors who are so weak as to rest their hopes, not on fighting, but on declining to fight.”
126. ὁ μὲν τοιαῦτα λέγων διετρόχαζε, καὶ αὐτὸν αἱ τάξεις ἐπήλπιζον καὶ μετὰ βοῆς παρέπεμπον εὐφήμου· ὁ δὲ Καῖσαρ καὶ ὁ Ἀντώνιος τοὺς ἰδίους περιθέοντες τήν τε δεξιὰν ὤρεγον, ἐφʼ οὓς παραγένοιντο, καὶ σοβαρώτερον ἔτι οἵδε ἐπέσπερχον αὐτοὺς καὶ τὸν λιμὸν οὐκ ἐπέκρυπτον ὡς εὔκαιρον ἐς εὐτολμίαν προφέρειν. εὕρομεν, ὦ ἄνδρες, τοὺς πολεμίους· ἔχομεν οὓς ἐζητοῦμεν ἔξω τείχους λαβεῖν. μὴ δή τις ὑμῶν τὴν ἰδίαν πρόκλησιν καταισχύνῃ μηδὲ τῆς ἀπειλῆς ἐλάττων γένηται· μηδὲ λιμόν, ὄλεθρον ἀμήχανόν τε καὶ ἐπώδυνον, ἕληται μᾶλλον ἢ πολεμίων τείχη καὶ σώματα, ἃ καὶ τόλμαις ἐνδίδωσι καὶ σιδήρῳ καὶ ἀπονοία. ἔχει δὲ ἡμῖν ἐπείξεως ὧδε τὰ παρόντα, ὡς μηδὲν ἐς τὴν ἐπιοῦσαν ἡμέραν ἀνατίθεσθαι, ἀλλὰ σήμερον περὶ ἁπάντων διακριθῆναι μέχρι νίκης ἐντελοῦς ἢ εὐγενοῦς θανάτου. νικῶσι δʼ ἔστι λαβεῖν διὰ μιᾶς ἡμέρας καὶ διʼ ἑνὸς ἔργου τροφὰς καὶ χρήματα καὶ ναῦς καὶ στρατόπεδα καὶ τὰ νικητήρια παρʼ ἡμῶν. ἔσται δὲ ταῦτα, ἢν πρῶτον μὲν ἐμβάλλοντες αὐτοῖς μνημονεύωμεν τῶν ἐπειγόντων, εἶτα παραρρήξαντες εὐθὺς ἀποκλείωμεν ἀπὸ τῶν πυλῶν, ἐς δὲ τοὺς κρημνοὺς ἢ τὰ πεδία περιωθῶμεν, ἵνα μὴ ὁ πόλεμος αὖθις ἀναφύοιτο μηδὲ ἐς τὴν ἀργίαν πάλιν οἱ ἐχθροὶ διαδιδράσκοιεν, οἳ διʼ ἀσθένειαν, μόνοι δὴ πολεμίων, οὐκ ἐν τῷ μάχεσθαι τὰς ἐλπίδας ἔχουσιν, ἀλλʼ ἐν τῷ μὴ μάχεσθαι.
127. In this way Octavius and Antony roused the spirit of those with whom they came in contact. The emulation of the troops was excited to show themselves worthy of their commanders and also to escape the danger of famine, which had been greatly augmented by the naval disaster in the Adriatic. They preferred, if necessary, to suffer in battle, with the hope of success, rather than be wasted by an irresistible foe. Inspired by these thoughts, which each man exchanged with his nearest neighbor, the spirit of the two armies was wonderfully raised and both were filled with undaunted courage. They did not now remember that they were fellow-citizens of their enemies, but hurled threats at each other as though they had been enemies by birth and descent, so much did the anger of the moment extinguish reason and nature in them. Both sides divined equally that this day and this battle would decide the fate of Rome completely; and it did decide it.
127. οὕτω μὲν ὁ Καῖσαρ καὶ ὁ Ἀντώνιος παρώτρυνον, ἐφʼ οὓς παραγένοιντο. καὶ πᾶσιν ἦν αἰδὼς ἀξίοις τε φανῆναι τῶν στρατηγῶν καὶ τὴν ἀπορίαν ἐκφυγεῖν, ὑπεραυξηθεῖσαν ἐκ παραλόγου διὰ τὰ ἐν τῷ Ἰονίῳ γενόμενα. ᾑροῦντό τε ἐν ἔργῳ καὶ ἐν ἐλπίσιν, εἰ δέοι, τί παθεῖν μᾶλλον ἢ ὑπὸ ἀμηχάνου κακοῦ δαπανώμενοι. ὧδε δὲ ἐχόντων αὐτῶν καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἐγγὺς αὐτὰ ἐκφέροντος ἑκάστου, ὁ θυμὸς ἀμφοτέρων ηὔξετο μάλιστα καὶ ἐνεπίμπλαντο τόλμης ἀκαταπλήκτου· οὐδέν τε ἐν τῷ παρόντι ἀλλήλων ὅτι ἦσαν πολῖται οὐδὲ ἐπεμέμνηντο, ἀλλʼ ὡς ἐκ φύσεως καὶ γένους ἐχθροῖς ἐπηπείλουν. οὕτως ἡ παραυτίκα ὀργὴ τὸν λογισμὸν αὐτοῖς καὶ τὴν φύσιν ἔσβεσεν. ἐπεμαντεύοντο δὲ ὁμαλῶς ἑκάτεροι τήνδε τὴν ἡμέραν ἐν τῷδε τῷ ἔργῳ πάντα τὰ Ῥωμαίων πράγματα κρινεῖν. καὶ ἐκρίθη.
128. The day was consumed in preparations till the ninth hour, at which time two eagles fell upon each other and fought in the space between the armies, amid the profoundest silence. When the one on the side of Brutus took flight his enemies raised a great shout and battle was joined. The onset was superb and terrible. They had little need of arrows, stones, or javelins, which are customary in war, for they did not resort to the usual manœuvres and tactics of battles, but, coming to close combat with naked swords, they slew and were slain, seeking to break each other’s ranks. On the one side it was a fight for self-preservation rather than victory; on the other for victory and for the satisfaction of the general who had been forced to fight against his will. The slaughter and the groans were terrible. The bodies of the fallen were carried back and others stepped into their places from the rear ranks. The generals flew hither and thither overlooking everything, exciting the men by their ardor, exhorting the toilers to toil on, and relieving those who were exhausted so that there was always fresh courage at the front. Finally, the soldiers of Octavius, either from fear of famine, or by the good fortune of Octavius himself (for the soldiers of Brutus were not blameworthy), pushed back the enemy’s line as though they were putting in motion a very heavy machine. The latter were driven back step by step, slowly at first and without loss of courage. Presently their ranks began to dissolve and they retreated more rapidly, and then the second and third ranks in the rear retreated with them, all mingled together in disorder, crowded by each other and by the enemy, who pressed upon them without ceasing until it became plainly a flight. The soldiers of Octavius, then especially mindful of the order they had received, seized the gates of the enemy’s fortification, but at great risk to themselves because they were exposed to missiles from above and in front, but they prevented a great many of the enemy from gaining entrance. These fled, some to the sea, and some through the river Zygactes to the mountains.
128. ἤδη δὲ τῆς ἡμέρας ἀμφὶ τήνδε τὴν παρασκευὴν ἐς ἐνάτην ὥραν δεδαπανημένης αἰετοὶ δύο ἐς τὸ μεταίχμιον συμπεσόντες ἀλλήλοις ἐπολέμουν· καὶ ἦν σιγὴ βαθυτάτη. φυγόντος δὲ τοῦ κατὰ Βροῦτον βοή τε παρὰ τῶν πολεμίων ὀξεῖα ἠγέρθη καὶ τὰ σημεῖα ἑκατέρωθεν ἐπῇρτο, καὶ ἔφοδος ἦν σοβαρά τε καὶ ἀπηνής. τοξευμάτων μὲν δὴ καὶ λίθων ἢ ἀκοντισμάτων ὀλίγον αὐτοῖς ἐδέησε πολέμου νόμῳ, ἐπεὶ οὐδὲ τῇ ἄλλῃ τέχνῃ καὶ τάξει τῶν ἔργων ἐχρῶντο, ἀλλὰ γυμνοῖς τοῖς ξίφεσι συμπλεκόμενοι ἔκοπτόν τε καὶ ἐκόπτοντο καὶ ἀλλήλους ἐξώθουν ἀπὸ τῆς τάξεως, οἱ μὲν περὶ σωτηρίας μᾶλλον ἢ νίκης, οἱ δὲ περὶ νίκης καὶ παρηγορίας στρατηγοῦ βεβιασμένου. φόνος δὲ ἦν καὶ στόνος πολύς, καὶ τὰ μὲν σώματα αὐτοῖς ὑπεξεφέρετο, ἕτεροι δὲ ἀντικαθίσταντο ἐκ τῶν ἐπιτεταγμένων. οἱ στρατηγοὶ δὲ σφᾶς, περιθέοντες καὶ ὁρώμενοι πανταχοῦ, ταῖς τε ὁρμαῖς ἀνέφερον καὶ παρεκάλουν πονοῦντας ἔτι προσπονῆσαι καὶ τοὺς κεκμηκότας ἐνήλλασσον, ὥστε ὁ θυμὸς αἰεὶ τοῖς ἐπὶ τοῦ μετώπου καινὸς ἦν. τέλος δὲ οἱ τοῦ Καίσαρος, εἴτε διὰ δέος τοῦ λιμοῦ, εἴτε διʼ αὐτοῦ Καίσαρος εὐτυχίαν ʽοὐ γὰρ ἐπίμεμπτοί γε ἦσαν οὐδὲ οἱ Βρούτειοἰ, τὴν φάλαγγα τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἐκίνουν, ὥσπερ τι μηχάνημα τῶν βαρυτάτων ἀνατρέποντες. οἱ δʼ ἀνεωθοῦντο μὲν ἐπὶ πόδας ἐς τὸ ὀπίσω βάδην ἔτι καὶ μετὰ φρονήματος· ὡς δὲ αὐτοῖς καὶ ἡ σύνταξις ἤδη παρελέλυτο, ὀξύτερον ὑπεχώρουν καί, τῶν ἐπιτεταγμένων σφίσι δευτέρων καὶ τρίτων συνυποχωρούντων, μισγόμενοι πάντες ἀλλήλοις ἀκόσμως ἐθλίβοντο ὑπὸ σφῶν καὶ τῶν πολεμίων ἀπαύστως αὐτοῖς ἐπικειμένων, ἕως ἔφευγον ἤδη σαφῶς. καὶ οἱ τοῦ Καίσαρος τότε μάλιστα τοῦ παρηγγελμένου σφίσιν ἐγκρατῶς ἐχόμενοι τὰς πύλας προελάμβανον σφόδρα ἐπικινδύνως ʽἄνωθέν τε γὰρ ἐβάλλοντο καὶ ἐκ τοῦ μετώποὐ, μέχρι πολλοὺς ἐσδραμεῖν ἐκώλυσαν, οἳ διέφυγον ἐπί τε τὴν θάλασσαν καὶ ἐς τὰ ὄρη διὰ τοῦ ποταμοῦ τοῦ Ζυγάκτου.
129. The enemy having been routed, the generals divided the remainder of the work between themselves, Octavius to capture those who should break out of the camp and to watch the main camp, while Antony was everywhere, and everywhere attacking, falling upon the fugitives and those who still held together, and upon their other camping-places, crushing all with vehement impetuosity. Fearing lest the leaders should escape him and collect another army, he despatched cavalry upon the roads and outlets of the field of battle to capture those who were trying to escape. These divided their work; some of them hurried up the mountain with Rhascus, the Thracian, who was sent with them on account of his knowledge of the roads. They surrounded the fortified positions and escarpments, hunted down the fugitives, and kept watch upon those inside. Others pursued Brutus himself. Lucilius seeing them rushing on furiously, surrendered himself, pretending to be Brutus, and asked them to take him to Antony instead of Octavius; for which reason chiefly he was believed to be Brutus trying to avoid his implacable enemy. When Antony heard that they were bringing him, he went to meet him, with a pause to reflect on the fortune, the dignity, and the virtue of the man, and thinking how he should receive Brutus. As he was approaching, Lucilius presented himself, and said with perfect boldness, “You have not captured Brutus, nor will virtue ever be taken prisoner by vice. I deceived these men and so here I am.” Antony, observing that the horse-men were ashamed of their mistake, consoled them, saying, “The game you have caught for me is not worse, but better than you think — as much better as a friend is than an enemy.” Then he committed Lucilius to the care of one of his friends, and later took him into his own service and employed him in a confidential capacity.
129. γενομένης δὲ τῆς τροπῆς τὸ λοιπὸν ἔργον οἱ στρατηγοὶ διῃροῦντο, Καῖσαρ μὲν αἱρεῖν τοὺς ἐκπίπτοντας ἐκ τοῦ στρατοπέδου καὶ αὐτὸ φυλάσσειν τὸ στρατόπεδον· ὁ δὲ Ἀντώνιος πάντα ἦν καὶ πᾶσιν ἐνέπιπτε, τοῖς τε φεύγουσι καὶ τοῖς ἔτι συνεστῶσι καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις στρατοπέδοις αὐτῶν, ὁρμῇ τε ὑπερηφάνῳ πάντα ἐβιάζετο ὁμοῦ. καὶ περὶ τοῖς ἡγεμόσι δείσας, μὴ αὑτὸν διαφυγόντες αὖθις ἕτερον στρατὸν ἀγείρειαν, τοὺς ἱππέας ἐξέπεμπεν ἐπὶ τὰς ὁδούς τε καὶ ἐκβολὰς τῆς μάχης, αἱρεῖν τοὺς ἀποδιδράσκοντας· οἳ διελόμενοι τὸ ἔργον ἀνά τε τὸ ὄρος ἐφέροντο σὺν τῷ Θρᾳκίῳ Ῥάσκῳ, διʼ ἐμπειρίαν ὁδῶν συναπεσταλμένῳ, καὶ τὰ χαρακώματα καὶ κρημνοὺς περιστάντες τοὺς ἐκφεύγοντας ἐκυνηγέτουν καὶ τοὺς ἐντὸς ἐφρούρουν. οἱ δὲ Βροῦτον αὐτὸν ἐδίωκον· καὶ αὐτοὺς ἀσχέτως ἔχοντας τοῦ δρόμου Λουκίλιος ἰδὼν ὑπέστη καὶ ὡς Βροῦτος ὢν ἠξίου πρὸς Ἀντώνιον ἀντὶ τοῦ Καίσαρος ἀναχθῆναι· ᾧ δὴ καὶ μάλιστα εἶναι Βροῦτος ἐνομίσθη, τὸν ἀδιάλλακτον ἐχθρὸν ἐκκλίνων. ἀγομένου δὲ αὐτοῦ πυθόμενος ὁ Ἀντώνιος ἀπήντα σὺν ἐπιστάσει, τὴν τύχην ὁμοῦ καὶ τὸ ἀξίωμα τἀνδρὸς καὶ ἀρετὴν ἐνθυμούμενος, ὅπως Βροῦτον ὑποδέξαιτο. πλησιάσαντι δʼ ὁ Λουκίλιος ἐντυχὼν μάλα θρασέως εἶπε· Βροῦτος μὲν οὐχ ἑάλωκεν, οὐδὲ ἁλώσεταί ποτε πρὸς κακίας ἀρετή· ἐγὼ δὲ τούσδε ἀπατήσας ὧδέ σοι πάρειμι. καὶ ὁ Ἀντώνιος τοὺς ἱππέας ἰδὼν αἰδουμένους παρηγόρει καί, οὐ μείονά μοι τήνδε ἄγραν, εἶπεν, ἀλλὰ ἀμείνονα ἧς ἐνομίζετε ἐθηρεύσατε, ὅσῳ κρείττων ἐχθροῦ φίλος. καὶ τὸν Λουκίλιον τότε μέν τινι τῶν φίλων ἔδωκε θεραπεύειν, ὕστερον δὲ αὐτὸς ἔχων ἐχρῆτο ὡς πιστῷ.
130. Brutus fled to the mountains with a considerable force, intending to return to his camp by night, or to move down to the sea. But since all the roads were encompassed by guards he passed the night under arms with all his party, and it is said that, looking up to the stars, he exclaimed: — ““Forget not, Zeus, the author of these ills.” ” referring to Antony. It is said that Antony himself repeated this saying at a later period in the midst of his own dangers, regretting that, when he might have associated himself with Cassius and Brutus, he had become the tool of Octavius. At the present time, however, Antony passed the night under arms with his outposts over against Brutus, fortifying himself with a breastwork of dead bodies and spoils collected together. Octavius toiled till midnight and then retired on account of his illness, leaving Norbanus to watch the enemy’s camp.
130. ὁ δὲ Βροῦτος ἀναφεύγει μὲν ἐς τὰ ὄρη σὺν ἱκανῷ πλήθει, ὡς νυκτὸς ἐς τὸ στρατόπεδον ὑποστρέψων ἢ καταβησόμενος ἐπὶ τὴν θάλασσαν· ἐπεὶ δὲ περιείληπτο πάντα φυλακαῖς, διενυκτέρευεν ἔνοπλος μετὰ πάντων. καί φασιν αὐτὸν ἐς τοὺς ἀστέρας ἀναβλέποντα εἰπεῖν· Ζεῦ, μὴ λάθοι σε τῶνδʼ ὃς αἴτιος κακῶν, ἐνσημαινόμενον ἄρα τὸν Ἀντώνιον. ὃ καὶ αὐτὸν Ἀντώνιόν φασιν ὕστερον ἐν τοῖς ἰδίοις κινδύνοις μεταγινώσκοντα εἰπεῖν, ὅτι συνεξετάζεσθαι Κασσίῳ καὶ Βρούτῳ δυνάμενος ὑπηρέτης γένοιτο Ὀκταουίου. τότε γε μὴν καὶ ὁ Ἀντώνιος ἔνοπλος ἐπὶ τῶν φυλακτηρίων ἀντιδιενυκτέρευε τῷ Βρούτῳ, χάρακα περιθέμενος ἐκ νεκρῶν σωμάτων καὶ λαφύρων συμφορηθέντων. ὁ δὲ Καῖσαρ ἐς μέσην νύκτα πονηθεὶς ἀνεχώρησε διὰ τὴν νόσον, Νωρβανῷ φυλάσσειν παραδοὺς τὸ στρατόπεδον.
131. On the following day Brutus, seeing the enemy still lying in wait for him, and having less than four full legions, which had ascended the mountain with him, thought it best not to address himself to his troops, but to their officers, who were ashamed and repentant of their fault. To them he sent to put them to the test and to learn whether they were willing to break through the enemy’s lines and regain their own camp, which was still held by their troops who had been left there. These officers, though they had rushed to battle unadvisedly, had been of good courage for the most part, but now, misled by a god, gave to their general the undeserved answer that he should look out for himself, that they had tempted fortune many times, and that they would not throw away the last remaining hope of accommodation. Then Brutus said to his friends, “I am no longer useful to my country if such is the temper of these men,” and calling Strato, the Epirote, who was one of his friends, gave him the order to stab him. While Strato was still willing to deliberate, Brutus called one of his servants. Then Strato said, “Your friend shall not come short of your servants in executing your last commands, if the decision is actually reached.” With these words he thrust his sword into the side of Brutus, who did not shrink or turn away.
131. Βροῦτος δὲ καὶ τῆς ἐπιούσης ὁρῶν τὰς ἐφεδρείας τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἐπιμενούσας, ἔχων οὐ πλήρη τέσσαρα τέλη συναναβάντα οἱ, αὐτὸς μὲν ἐπελθεῖν ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς ἐφυλάξατο, τοὺς δὲ ἡγουμένους αὐτῶν, αἰδουμένους τε τὸ ἁμάρτημα καὶ μετανοοῦντας, ἔπεμπεν ἀποπειράσοντας αὐτῶν, εἰ ἐθελήσουσιν ὤσασθαι διὰ τῶν ἐφεδρειῶν καὶ ἀναλαβεῖν τὰ ἴδια, ἔτι φυλασσόμενα ὑπὸ τῶν οἰκείων ὑπολελειμμένων. οἱ δὲ ἀβουλότατα μὲν ἐς τὸ ἔργον ὁρμήσαντες, εὐψυχότατοι δὲ τὸ μέχρι πλείστου γενόμενοι, τότε, βλάπτοντος ἤδη τοῦ θεοῦ, τῷ στρατηγῷ σφῶν ἀπεκρίναντο ἀναξίως βουλεύεσθαι περὶ αὑτοῦ· αὐτοὶ γάρ, τῆς τύχης πολλάκις πεπειραμένοι, οὐκ ἀνατρέψειν τὴν ἔτι λοιπὴν διαλλαγῶν ἐλπίδα. καὶ ὁ Βροῦτος ἐς τοὺς φίλους εἰπών· οὐδὲν οὖν ἔτι εἰμὶ τῇ πατρίδι χρήσιμος, ὧδε καὶ τούτων ἐχόντων, ἐκάλει Στράτωνα τὸν Ἠπειρώτην, ὄντα φίλον ἑαυτῷ, καὶ ἐγχειρεῖν ἐκέλευε τῷ σώματι. τούτου δὲ ἔτι βουλεύεσθαι παραινοῦντος ἐκάλει τινὰ τῶν οἰκετῶν. καὶ ὁ Στράτων, οὐκ ἀπορήσεις, εἶπεν, ὦ Βροῦτε, φίλου μᾶλλον ἢ οἰκετῶν ἐς τὰ ὕστατα προστάγματα, εἰ ἤδη κέκριται. καὶ εἰπὼν ἐνήρεισε ταῖς λαγόσι τοῦ Βρούτου τὸ ξίφος οὔτε ἀποστραφέντος οὔτε ἐνδόντος.
132. So died Cassius and Brutus, two most noble and illustrious Romans, and of incomparable virtue, but for one crime. Although they belonged to the party of Pompey the Great, and had been the enemies, in peace and in war, of Gaius Caesar, he made them his friends, and from being friends he was treating them as sons. The Senate at all times had a peculiar attachment to them, and commiseration for them when they fell into misfortune. On account of those two it granted amnesty to all the assassins, and when they took flight it bestowed governorships on them in order that they should not be exiles; not that it was disregardful of Gaius Caesar or rejoiced at what had happened to him, for it admired his bravery and good fortune, gave him a public funeral at his death, ratified his acts, and had for a long time awarded the magistracies and governorships to his nominees, considering that nothing better could be devised than what he proposed. But its zeal for these two men and its solicitude for them brought it under suspicion of complicity in the assassination, — so much were those two held in honor by all. By the most illustrious of the exiles they were preferred to [Sextus] Pompeius, although he was nearer and not implacable to the triumvirs, while they were farther away and irreconcilable.
132. ὧδε μὲν δὴ Κάσσιος καὶ Βροῦτος ἐθνῃσκέτην, ἄνδρε Ῥωμαίων εὐγενεστάτω τε καὶ περιφανεστάτω καὶ ἐς ἀρετὴν ἀδηρίτω, χωρὶς ἄγους ἑνός, ὥ γε καὶ Γάιος Καῖσαρ, ὄντε τῆς Μάγνου Πομπηίου μοίρας, ἐκ μὲν ἐχθροῖν καὶ πολεμίοιν ἐποιήσατο φίλω, ἐκ δὲ φίλοιν ἦγεν ὡς υἱώ. καὶ ἡ βουλὴ περιποθήτω τε εἶχεν αἰεὶ καὶ ἀτυχήσαντε ἐλεεινὼ δυοῖν τε τούτοιν ἕνεκα πᾶσιν ἀμνηστίαν ἐτίθετο καὶ φυγόντοιν αὐτοῖν ἔπεμψεν ἡγεμονίας, ἵνα μὴ φυγάδες εἶεν, οὐκ ἀμελοῦσα μὲν Γαΐου Καίσαρος οὐδὲ ἐφηδομένη τοῖς γεγονόσιν, ὅπου καὶ ζῶντα τῆς ἀρετὴς καὶ τύχης ἐθαύμαζε καὶ ἀποθανόντα ἔθαπτε δημοσίᾳ καὶ ἐκύρου τὰ ἔργα ἀθάνατα εἶναι ἀρχάς τε καὶ ἡγεμονίας ἐς πολὺ ἐκ τῶν ὑπογραφῶν ἐποίει τῶν Καίσαρος, οὐδὲν ἡγουμένη κρεῖσσον εὑρήσειν ὧν ἐκεῖνος ἐνόησεν. ἀλλʼ ἡ περὶ τώδε τὼ ἄνδρε σπουδὴ καὶ δέος τὸ ὑπὲρ αὐτοῖν προήγαγεν αὐτὴν ἐς ὑπεροψίαν διαβολῆς· οὕτως ἅπασιν ἐγενέσθην τιμίω. ἐγενέσθην δὲ καὶ τῶν φυγόντων τοῖς ἀρίστοις τιμιωτέρω Πομπηίου, πλησιάζοντος καὶ οὐκ ἀδιάλλακτον ἔχοντος αἰτίαν, πορρωτέρω τε ὄντε αὐτὼ καὶ ἀδιαλλάκτω.
133. When it became necessary for them to take up arms, two whole years had not elapsed ere they had brought together upward of twenty legions of infantry and something like 20,000 cavalry, and 200 ships of war, with corresponding apparatus and a vast amount of money, some of it from willing and some from unwilling contributors. They carried on wars with many peoples and with cities and with men of the adverse faction successfully. They brought under their sway all the nations from Macedonia to the Euphrates. Those whom they had fought against they had brought into alliance with them and had found them most faithful. They had had the services of the independent kings and princes, and in some small measure even of the Parthians, who were enemies of the Romans; but they did not wait for them to come and take part in the decisive battle, lest this barbarous and hostile race should become accustomed to encounters with the Romans. Most extraordinary of all was the fact that the greater part of their army had been the soldiers of Gaius Caesar and wonderfully attached to him, yet they were won over by the very murderers of Caesar and followed them more faithfully against Caesar’s son than they had followed Antony, who was Caesar’s companion in arms and colleague; for not one of them deserted Brutus and Cassius even when they were vanquished, while some of them had abandoned Antony at Brundusium before the war began. The reason for their service, both under Pompey aforetime and now under Brutus and Cassius, was not their own interest, but the cause of democracy; a specious name indeed, but generally hurtful. Both of the leaders, when they thought they could no longer be useful to their country, alike despised their own lives. In that which related to their cares and labors Cassius gave his attention strictly to war, like a gladiator to his antagonist. Brutus, wherever he might be, wanted to see and hear everything because he was by nature a seeker after knowledge.
133. ἐπεί γε μὴν ἔργων ἐδέησε, δυοῖν οὐδὲ ὅλοιν ἐτοῖν στρατιάν τε συνέλεξαν ὑπὲρ εἴκοσιν ὁπλιτῶν τέλη καὶ ἱππέας ἀμφὶ τοὺς δισμυρίους καὶ ναῦς μακρὰς ὑπὲρ τὰς διακοσίας τήν τε ἄλλην παρασκευὴν ἀξιόλογον καὶ χρήματα ἄπειρα καὶ παρʼ ἑκόντων καὶ παρὰ ἀκόντων, πολέμους τε ἐπολέμησαν ἔθνεσι καὶ πόλεσι καὶ τῶν ἀντιστασιωτῶν πολλοῖς καὶ κατώρθουν. ἐθνῶν τε ἐκράτησαν ἀπὸ Μακεδονίας μέχρι Εὐφράτου· καὶ ὅσους ἐπολέμησαν, ἐς συμμαχίαν αὑτοῖς ἔπεισαν καὶ βεβαιοτάτοις ἐχρήσαντο. ἐχρήσαντο δὲ καὶ βασιλεῦσι καὶ δυνάσταις, καὶ Παρθυαίοις καίπερ οὖσιν ἐχθροῖς ἐς τὰ βραχύτερα· ἐπὶ δὲ τὸ μεῖζον ἔργον οὐκ ἀνέμειναν ἐρχομένους, ἵνα μὴ βάρβαρον ἢ ἀντίπαλον ἔθνος ἐθίσειαν ἐπὶ Ῥωμαίοις. ὃ δὲ δὴ μάλιστα πάντων ἀδοκητότατον ἦν, ὁ στρατὸς ὁ πλείων ὅδε Γαΐου Καίσαρος ἐγεγένητο, καὶ δαιμονίως αὐτὸν εὐνοίας καὶ σπουδῆς ἔχοντα ἐς ἐκεῖνον μετέπεισαν οἱ σφαγεῖς οἵδε τοῦ Καίσαρος, καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν τοῦ Καίσαρος υἱὸν ἕσποντο αὐτοῖς πιστότερον ἢ Ἀντωνίῳ τῷ Καίσαρος συναγωνιστῇ τε καὶ συνάρχῳ· οὐ γάρ τις αὐτῶν Βροῦτον ἢ Κάσσιον οὐδὲ ἡσσωμένους ἀπέλιπεν, οἱ Ἀντώνιον ἀμφὶ τὸ Βρεντέσιον καὶ πρὸ πείρας ἀπολιπόντες· ἦν τε πρόφασις αὐτοῖς τῶν πόνων, καὶ ἐπὶ Πομπηίου καὶ νῦν, οὐχ ὑπὲρ σφῶν αὐτῶν, ἀλλʼ ὑπὲρ δημοκρατίας, ὀνόματος εὐειδοῦς μέν, ἀλυσιτελοῦς δὲ αἰεί. σφῶν τε αὐτῶν, ὅτε μηδὲν ἐδόκουν ἔτι εἶναι χρήσιμοι τῇ πατρίδι, ἄμφω κατεφρόνησαν ὁμοίως. ἐν δὲ ταῖς φροντίσι καὶ πόνοις ὁ μὲν Κάσσιος ἀμεταστρεπτί, καθάπερ ἐς τὸν ἀγωνιστὴν οἱ μονομαχοῦντες, ἐς μόνον τὸν πόλεμον ἀφεώρα· ὁ δὲ Βροῦτος, ὅπῃ γίγνοιτο, καὶ φιλοθεάμων ἦν καὶ φιλήκοος, ἅτε καὶ φιλοσοφήσας οὐκ ἀγεννῶς.
134. Against all these virtues and merits must be set down the crime against Caesar, which was not an ordinary or a small one, for it was committed unexpectedly against a friend, ungratefully against a benefactor who had spared them in war, and nefariously against the head of the state, in the senate-house, against a pontiff clothed in his sacred vestments, against a ruler without an equal, who was most useful above all other men to Rome and its empire. For these reasons Heaven was incensed against them and often forewarned them of their doom. When Cassius was performing a lustration for his army his lictor presented his garland wrong side up. A gilded statue of Victory dedicated to Cassius fell down. Many birds hovered over his camp, but uttered no sound, and swarms of bees continually settled upon it. While Brutus was celebrating his birthday at Samos it is said that in the midst of the feast, although not a ready man with such quotations, he shouted out this verse without any apparent cause: — ““A cruel fate O’ertakes me, aided by Latona’s son.” ” Iliad, xvi. 849. Bryant’s translation. Once when he was about to cross from Asia into Europe with his army, and while he was awake at night and the light was burning low, he beheld an apparition of extraordinary form standing near him, and when he boldly asked who of men or gods it might be, the spectre answered, “I am thy evil genius, Brutus. I shall appear to thee again at Philippi.” And it is said that it did appear to him before the last battle. When the soldiers were going out to the fight an Ethiopian met them in front of the gates, and as they considered this a bad omen they immediately cut him in pieces. It was due to divine interposition, no doubt, that Cassius gave way to despair without reason after a drawn battle, and that Brutus was forced from his policy of wise delay to an engagement with men who were pressed by hunger, while he himself had supplies in abundance and the command of the sea, so that his calamity proceeded rather from his own troops than from the enemy. Although they had participated in many engagements, they never received any hurt in battle, but both became the slayers of themselves, as they had been of Cae sar. Such was the punishment that overtook Cassius and Brutus.
134. ἀλλὰ καὶ τοιοῖσδε οὖσιν αὐτοῖς ἀντίθετον ἐς ἅπαντα ἦν τὸ ἄγος τὸ ἐς Καίσαρα. ὅ γε οὐδὲ ἁπλοῦν ἄγος ἦν οὐδὲ ἐν ὀλίγῳ· καὶ γὰρ ἐς φίλον ἐγίγνετο παραλόγως καὶ ἐς εὐεργέτην ἐκ πολέμου περισώσαντα ἀχαρίστως καὶ ἐς αὐτοκράτορα ἀθεμίστως καὶ ἐν βουλευτηρίῳ καὶ ἐς ἱερέα καὶ ἱερὰν ἐσθῆτα ἐπικείμενον καὶ δυνάστην μὲν οἷον οὐχ ἕτερον, χρησιμώτατον δὲ ὑπὲρ ἅπαντας τῇ τε πατρίδι καὶ τῇ ἡγεμονίᾳ γενόμενον. ἃ καὶ τὸ δαιμόνιον αὐτοῖς ἄρα ἐνεμέσησε καὶ προεσήμηνε πολλάκις. Κασσίῳ τε γὰρ τὸν στρατὸν καθαίροντι ὁ ῥαβδοῦχος ἀνεστραμμένον τὸν στέφανον ἐπέθηκε· καὶ Νίκη, χρύσεον ἀνάθημα Κασσίου, κατέπεσεν, ὄρνεά τε πολλὰ ὑπὲρ τὸ στρατόπεδον αὐτοῦ καθιέμενα κλαγγὴν οὐδεμίαν ἠφίει, καὶ μελισσῶν ἐπεκάθηντο συνεχεῖς ἑσμοί. Βροῦτον δὲ ἐν Σάμῳ γενεθλιάζοντά φασι παρὰ τὸν πότον, οὐδὲ εὐχερῆ πρὸς τὰ τοιαῦτα ὄντα, ἀλόγως τόδε τὸ ἔπος ἀναβοῆσαι· ἀλλά με μοῖρʼ ὀλοὴ καὶ Λητοῦς ἔκτανεν υἱός. μέλλοντα δὲ περᾶν ἐκ τῆς Ἀσίας ἐς τὴν Εὐρώπην σὺν τῷ στρατῷ, νυκτὸς ἐγρηγορότα, μαραινομένου τοῦ φωτὸς ὄψιν ἰδεῖν ἑφεστῶσάν οἱ παράλογον καὶ πυθέσθαι μὲν εὐθαρσῶς, ὅς τις ἀνθρώπων ἢ θεῶν εἴη, τὸ δὲ φάσμα εἰπεῖν· ὁ σός, ὦ Βροῦτε, δαίμων κακός· ὀφθήσομαι δέ σοι καὶ ἐν Φιλίπποις. καὶ ὀφθῆναί φασιν αὐτῷ πρὸ τῆς τελευταίας μάχης. ἐξιόντι δὲ τῷ στρατῷ πρὸ τῶν πυλῶν αἰθίοψ ὑπήντησε· καὶ τόνδε μὲν ὡς οἰώνισμα φαῦλον ὁ στρατὸς αὐτίκα συνέκοψε, δαιμόνια δʼ ἦν αὐτοῖς ἄρα καὶ τάδε, Κάσσιον μὲν ἐν ἀμφηρίστῳ νίκῃ πάντα ἀλόγως ἀπογνῶναι, Βροῦτον δὲ εὐβούλου βραδυτῆτος ἐκβιασθῆναι καὶ ἐς χεῖρας ἐλθεῖν ἀνδράσι διωκομένοις ὑπὸ λιμοῦ, δαψιλῶς αὐτὸν ἔχοντα ἀγορᾶς καὶ ναυκρατοῦντα, καὶ τόδε παθεῖν ὑπὸ τῶν οἰκείων μᾶλλον ἢ τῶν πολεμίων, καὶ μὴν πολλάκις ἀγώνων μετασχόντες ἐν μὲν ταῖς μάχαις οὐδὲν ἔπαθον, ἄμφω δʼ αὑτῶν ἐγένοντο αὐθένται καθάπερ ἐγένοντο τοῦ Καίσαρος. Κάσσιος μὲν δὴ καὶ Βροῦτος τοιάνδε δίκην ἐδεδώκεσαν.
135. Antony found the body of Brutus, wrapped it in his best purple garment, burned it, and sent the ashes to his mother, Servilia. Brutus’ army, when it learned of his death, sent envoys to Octavius and Antony and obtained pardon, and was divided between their armies. It consisted of about 14,000 men. Besides these a large number who were in garrisons surrendered. The garrisons themselves and the enemy’s camp were given to the soldiers of Octavius and Antony to be plundered. Of the distinguished men in Brutus’ camp some perished in the battles, others killed themselves as the two generals had done, others purposely continued fighting till death. Among these men of note were Lucius Cassius, a nephew of Cassius himself, and Cato, the son of Cato. The latter charged upon the enemy many times; then, when his men began to retreat, he threw off his helmet, either that he might be recognized, or be easily hit, or for both reasons. Labeo, a man renowned for learning, father of the Labeo who is still celebrated as a jurisconsult, dug a trench in his tent the size of his body, gave orders to his slaves in reference to the remainder of his affairs, made such arrangements as he desired for his wife and children, and gave letters to his domestics to carry to them. Then, taking his most faithful slave by the right hand and whirling him around, as is the Roman custom in granting freedom, he handed him a sword as he turned, and presented his throat. And so his tent became his tomb.
135. καὶ Βροῦτον Ἀντώνιος ἀνευρὼν περιέβαλέ τε τῇ ἀρίστῃ φοινικίδι εὐθὺς καὶ καύσας τὰ λείψανα τῇ μητρὶ Σερουιλίᾳ ἔπεμψεν. ὁ δὲ σὺν τῷ Βρούτῳ στρατός, ὅτε ἐπύθοντο τεθνάναι Βροῦτον, πρέσβεις ἐς Καίσαρα καὶ Ἀντώνιον ἔπεμπον καὶ συγγνώμης ἔτυχον καὶ ἐς τὰ στρατεύματα αὐτῶν διῃρέθησαν· καὶ ἦσαν ἀμφὶ τοὺς μυρίους καὶ τετρακισχιλίους. παρέδοσαν δὲ ἐπὶ τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἑαυτοὺς καὶ οἱ κατὰ τὰ φρούρια, πολλὰ ὄντα. τὰ δὲ φρούρια αὐτὰ καὶ τὸ στρατόπεδον ἐδόθη τοῖς Καίσαρος καὶ Ἀντωνίου στρατοῖς διαρπάσαι. τῶν δʼ ἀμφὶ τὸν Βροῦτον ἀνδρῶν ἐπιφανῶν οἱ μὲν ἐν ταῖς μάχαις ἀπέθανον, οἱ δὲ αὑτοὺς ἐξήγαγον ὁμοίως τοῖς στρατηγοῖς, οἱ δὲ καὶ ἐξεπίτηδες ἐμαχέσαντο μέχρι θανάτου· ὧν ἦν Λεύκιός τε Κάσσιος, ὁ ἀδελφιδοῦς αὐτοῦ Κασσίου, καὶ Κάτων ὁ Κάτωνος, ἐμπίπτων ὅδε τοῖς πολεμίοις πολλάκις, εἶθʼ ὑποχωρούντων ἀναλύσας τὸ κράνος, ἵνα ἢ γνώριμος ἢ εὔβλητος ἢ ἀμφότερα εἴη. Λαβεὼν δέ, ἐπὶ σοφίᾳ γνώριμος, ὁ πατὴρ Λαβεῶνος τοῦ κατʼ ἐμπειρίαν νόμων ἔτι νῦν περιωνύμου, βόθρον ἐν τῇ σκηνῇ τὸ μέγεθος αὐτάρκη σώματι ὀρυξάμενος καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ τοῖς θεράπουσιν ἐντειλάμενος ἐπέσκηψε τῇ γυναικὶ καὶ τοῖς παισί, περὶ ὧν ἐβούλετο, καὶ τὰ γράμματα φέρειν ἔδωκε τοῖς οἰκέταις· τοῦ δὲ πιστοτάτου τῆς δεξιᾶς λαβόμενος καὶ περιστρέψας αὐτόν, ὡς ἔθος ἐστὶ Ῥωμαίοις ἐλευθεροῦν, ἐπιστρεφομένῳ ξίφος ἔδωκε καὶ τὴν σφαγὴν ὑπέσχε.
136. Rhascus, the Thracian, brought many troops from the mountains. He asked and received as his reward the pardon of his brother, Rhascupolis, from which it was made plain that from the beginning these Thracians had not been at variance with each other, but that seeing two great and hostile armies coming into conflict near their territory, they took sides in the contest in such a way that the victor might save the vanquished. Portia, the wife of Brutus and sister of the younger Cato, when she learned that both had died in the manner described, although very strictly watched by domestics, seized some coals of fire that they were carrying, and swallowed them. Of the members of the nobility who escaped to Thasos some took ship from thence, others committed themselves with the remains of the army to the judgment of Messala Corvinus and Lucius Bibulus, men of equal rank, to do for all what they should decide to do for themselves. These came to an arrangement with Antony and Octavius, whereby they delivered to Antony on his arrival at Thasos the money and arms, besides abundant supplies and a great quantity of war material, there in store.
136. καὶ τῷδε μὲν ἡ σκηνὴ τάφος ἐγένετο, Ῥάσκος δὲ ὁ Θρᾷξ ἐπανήγαγεν ἐκ τῶν ὀρῶν πολλούς, καὶ γέρας ᾔτησέ τε καὶ ἔλαβε σῴζεσθαι τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἑαυτοῦ Ῥασκούπολιν· ᾧ καὶ διεδείχθη, ὅτι οὐδʼ ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς ἀλλήλοις οἵδε οἱ Θρᾷκες διεφέροντο, ἀλλὰ δύο στρατοπέδων μεγάλων τε καὶ ἀμφηρίστων περὶ τὴν ἐκείνων γῆν συμφερομένων τὸ ἄδηλον τῆς τύχης ἐμερίσαντο, ἵνα ὁ νικῶν περισῴζοι τὸν ἡσσώμενον. Πορκία δʼ, ἡ Βρούτου μὲν γυνή, Κάτωνος δὲ ἀδελφὴ τοῦ νεωτέρου, ἐπείτε ἀμφοῖν ὧδε ἀποθανόντοιν ἐπύθετο, φυλασσομένη πρὸς τῶν οἰκείων πάνυ ἐγκρατῶς, ἐσχάρας πυρὸς ἐνεχθείσης ἁρπάσασα τῶν ἀνθράκων κατέπιεν. ὅσοι δʼ ἄλλοι τῶν ἐπιφανῶν ἐς Θάσον διέφυγον, οἱ μὲν αὐτῶν ἐξέπλευσαν, οἱ δὲ ἐπέτρεψαν ἑαυτοὺς ἅμα τῷ λοιπῷ στρατῷ τῶν ὁμοτίμων Μεσσάλᾳ τε Κορουίνῳ καὶ Λευκίῳ Βύβλῳ, ὅ τι βουλεύσοιντο περὶ σφῶν, ποιεῖν περὶ ἁπάντων. οἱ δὲ συνθέμενοι τοῖς περὶ τὸν Ἀντώνιον, Ἀντωνίῳ διαπλεύσαντι ἐς τὴν Θάσον παρέδοσαν, ὅσα ἦν ἐν Θάσῳ χρήματά τε καὶ ὅπλα καὶ τροφαὶ δαψιλεῖς καὶ ἄλλη παρασκευὴ πολλή.
137. Thus did Octavius and Antony by perilous daring and by two infantry engagements achieve a success, the like of which was never before known; for never before had such numerous and powerful Roman armies come in conflict with each other. These soldiers were not enlisted from the ordinary conscription, but were picked men. They were not new levies, but under long drill and arrayed against each other, not against foreign or barbarous races. Speaking the same language and using the same tactics, being of like discipline and power of endurance, they were for these reasons evenly matched. Nor was there ever such fury and daring in war as here, when citizens contended against citizens, families against families, and fellow-soldiers against each other. The proof of this is that, taking both battles into the account, the number of the slain among the victors appeared to be not less [than among the vanquished].
137. οὕτω μὲν δὴ Καίσαρί τε καὶ Ἀντωνίῳ διὰ τόλμης ἐπισφαλοῦς καὶ δυοῖν πεζομαχίαιν τηλικοῦτον ἔργον ἤνυστο, οἷον οὐχ ἕτερον ἐγένετο πρὸ ἐκείνου. οὔτε γὰρ στρατὸς τοσοῦτος ἢ τοιοῦτος ἐς χεῖρας πρότερον ἦλθε Ῥωμαίων ἑκατέρωθεν, οὐχ ὑπὸ συντάξει πολιτικῇ στρατευσαμένων, ἀλλὰ ἀριστίνδην ἐπειλεγμένων οὐδʼ ἀπειροπολέμων ἔτι, ἀλλʼ ἐκ πολλοῦ γεγυμνασμένων ἐπί τε σφᾶς καὶ οὐκ ἀλλόφυλα ἢ βάρβαρα ἔθνη τρεπομένων. ἀλλὰ καὶ γλώσσης μιᾶς ὄντες καὶ τέχνης πολέμων μιᾶς καὶ ἀσκήσεως καὶ καρτερίας ὁμοίας, δυσκαταγώνιστοι παρʼ αὐτὸ ἦσαν ἀλλήλοις. οὐδὲ ὁρμῇ καὶ τόλμῃ τοσῇδέ τινες ἐχρήσαντο ἐν πολέμῳ, πολῖταί τε ὄντες ἀλλήλων καὶ οἰκεῖοι καὶ συστρατιῶται γενόμενοι. τεκμήριον δέ, ὅτι τῶν νεκρῶν ὁ ἀριθμός, ἐπανισουμένης ἑκατέρας μάχης, οὐκ ἐλάσσων ἔδοξεν οὐδὲ παρὰ τοῖς νικῶσιν εἶναι.
138. Thus the army of Antony and Octavius confirmed the prediction of their generals, passing in one day and by one blow from extreme danger of famine and fear of destruction to lavish wealth, absolute security, and glorious victory. That result came about which Antony and Octavius had predicted as they advanced into battle. Their form of government was decided by that day’s work chiefly, and they have not gone back to democracy yet. Nor was there any further need of similar contentions with each other, except the strife between Antony and Octavius not long afterward, which was the last that took place between Romans. The events that transpired after the death of Brutus, under Sextus Pompeius and the friends of Cassius and Brutus, who escaped with the very considerable remains of their extensive war material, were not to be compared to the former in daring or in the devotion of men, cities, and armies to their leaders; nor did any of the nobility, nor the Senate, nor the same glory, attend them as attended Brutus and Cassius.
138. ὁ δὲ στρατὸς ὁ Ἀντωνίου καὶ Καίσαρος τὸν τῶν στρατηγῶν λόγον ἐπηλήθευσαν, διὰ μιᾶς ἡμέρας καὶ διʼ ἑνὸς ἔργου κίνδυνον ἔσχατον λιμοῦ καὶ δέος ἀπωλείας ἐς εὐπορίαν δαψιλῆ καὶ σωτηρίαν ἀσφαλῆ καὶ νίκην εὐκλεῆ μεταβαλόντες. ἀπήντησέ γε μὴν αὐτοῖς καὶ ὃ συνιόντες ἐς τὴν μάχην ἐπεμαντεύσαντο Ῥωμαίοις·
“Just before the arrival of the triumvirs Marcus Cicero left the city, considering it certain that he had no more chance of being saved from the vengeance of Antony than Brutus and Cassius had of escaping that of Octavius, — which was the fact. He fled first to his Tusculan villa and thence proceeded by cross-roads to that of Formiae in order to take ship at Caieta. There, after advancing several times seaward, he was driven back by adverse winds, and again he found himself unable to endure the tossing of the ship on the gloomy rolling waves, and he began at length to grow weary both of flight and of life. So he returned to his upper villa, which was a little more than a mile from the shore, saying, ‘I will die in my fatherland that I have so often saved.’ It is well established that his slaves were ready to fight for him bravely and faithfully, but that he ordered them to put down the litter and endure with patience whatever an adverse fate should compel. As he leaned out of the litter and offered his neck unmoved, his head was cut off. Nor did this satisfy the senseless cruelty of the soldiers. They cut off his hands, also, for the offence of having written something against Antony. Thus the head was brought to Antony and placed by his order between the two hands on the rostra, where, often as consul, often as a consular, and, that very year against Antony, he had been heard with admiration of his eloquence, the like of which no other human voice ever uttered. The people, raising their eyes bedimmed with tears, could scarcely bear the sight of his dismembered parts. He lived sixty-three years, so that in the absence of violence his death could not have been considered premature. His genius served him well both in his works and in the rewards thereof. He enjoyed the favors of fortune for a long time, yet in the intervals of his protracted career of prosperity he suffered some severe blows, exile, the ruin of the party he had espoused, the death of his daughter, and his end so sad and bitter, none of which calamities did he bear as became a man except his death, which to one who weighs the matter impartially must seem the less undeserved, since he suffered nothing more cruel at the hands of his victorious enemy than he would himself have inflicted if fortune had put the same power in his hands. Yet if we weigh his virtues and his faults he must be pronounced a great, energetic, and ever memorable man, to fitly sound whose praises another Cicero would be needed.” (Livy, cxx.) This judgment of the gravest of Roman historians is the one which the better part of mankind have ratified in all succeeding ages.
ἐκρίθη γὰρ αὐτῶν ἡ πολιτεία παρʼ ἐκεῖνο τὸ ἔργον μάλιστα καὶ οὐκ ἐπανῆλθεν ἐς δημοκρατίαν ἔτι, οὐδὲ πόνων αὐτοῖς ἐς ἀλλήλους ἐδέησεν ὁμοίων, χωρίς γε τῆς μετʼ οὐ πολὺ Ἀντωνίου καὶ Καίσαρος στάσεως, ὑστάτης Ῥωμαίοις γενομένης. τὰ δʼ ἐν μέσῳ μετὰ Βροῦτον ὑπό τε Πομπηίου καὶ τῶν διαφυγόντων Κασσίου καὶ Βρούτου φίλων, λείψανα τοσῆσδε παρασκευῆς μεγάλα ἐχόντων, οὔτε ταῖς τόλμαις ὅμοια ἔτι ἐγίγνετο οὔτε ταῖς τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἢ πόλεων ἢ στρατῶν ἐς τοὺς ἡγεμόνας ὁρμαῖς· οὐ γάρ τις αὐτοῖς τῶν ἐπιφανῶν ἔτι οὐδʼ ἡ βουλὴ οὐδὲ ἡ δόξα αὕτη, ὡς ἐς Κάσσιόν τε καὶ Βροῦτον, ἀπήντα. μετὰ δὲ τὸν Κασσίου καὶ Βρούτου θάνατον ὁ μὲν Καῖσαρ ἐπὶ τῆς Ἰταλίας ᾔει, ὁ δὲ Ἀντώνιος ἐς τὴν Ἀσίαν, ἔνθα αὐτῷ συμβάλλει Κλεοπάτρα βασιλὶς Αἰγύπτου, καὶ εὐθὺς ὀφθεῖσα ἐκράτει. ὁ δὲ ἔρως ὅδε αὐτοῖς τε ἐκείνοις ἐς ἔσχατον ἔληξε κακοῦ καὶ ἐς ὅλην Αἴγυπτον ἐπʼ ἐκείνοις. ὅθεν ἄν τι καὶ Αἰγύπτιον εἴη τῆσδε τῆς βίβλου μέρος, ὀλίγον τε καὶ οὐκ ἄξιον ἐπιγραφῆς πω, διὸ δὴ καὶ τοῖς ἐμφυλίοις πολὺ πλείοσιν οὖσιν ἐπίμικτον.
The glowing words of Velleius also deserve a place here; and these likewise have found their echo in all later generations, viz.: “You have gained nothing, Mark Antony (for the indignation bursting from my mind and breast compels me to exceed the intended character of this work); you have gained nothing, I say, by paying the price for closing that celestial voice and cutting off that most noble head, and instigating, by a cruel reward, the death of a man who had once been so great a consul and the saviour of the republic. You deprived Marcus Cicero of a life of anxiety and a feeble old age, of an existence worse under your chieftainship than death under your triumvirate. But the fame and glory of his deeds and words you have not taken from him in the least, but rather augumented. He lives and will live in the memory of all ages. So long as this body of the natural universe, whether created by chance or by providence, or however constituted, which he almost alone of the Romans penetrated with his intellect, embraced with his genius, and illuminated with his eloquence, shall endure, it will bear the praise of Cicero as coeval with it. All posterity will admire what he wrote against you and execrate what you did against him, and sooner shall the human race perish from the earth than his fame decay.” (Velleius, ii. 66.)
ἐγίγνετο γὰρ δὴ καὶ μετὰ Κάσσιόν τε καὶ Βροῦτον ἕτερα ἐμφύλια ὅμοια, στρατηγοῦ μὲν οὐδενὸς ὄντος ἐπὶ πᾶσιν ὥσπερ ἐκείνοις, κατὰ μέρος δὲ ἑτέρων, μέχρι Πομπήιός τε Σέξστος, ὁ νεώτερος παῖς Πομπηίου Μάγνου, λοιπὸς ὢν ἔτι τῆσδε τῆς στάσεως, τοῖς ἀμφὶ τὸν Βροῦτον ἐπανῃρέθη, καὶ Λέπιδος ἐξέπεσε τοῦ μέρους τῆς ἡγεμονίας καὶ ἡ Ῥωμαίων ἀρχὴ πᾶσα περιῆλθεν ἐς δύο μόνον, Ἀντώνιόν τε καὶ Καίσαρα. ἐγίνετο δὲ αὐτῶν ἕκαστα οὕτως. Κάσσιος ὁ Παρμήσιος ἐπίκλην ὑπελέλειπτο μὲν ὑπὸ Κασσίου καὶ Βρούτου περὶ τὴν Ἀσίαν ἐπὶ νεῶν καὶ στρατοῦ, χρήματα ἐκλέγειν.
Valerius Maximus, under the heading of “Ingratitude among the Romans,” says: “Cicero, at the instance of M. Caelius, with no less zeal than eloquence, defended C. Popilius Laena, a man of Picenum, and, though he had a doubtful case, returned him in safety to his home. This Popilius, of his own accord, although he had never afterward been harmed by Cicero by word or deed, asked Antony to send him to pursue and kill that illustrious proscript. When he had obtained this detestable commission he hastened with joy and gladness to Caieta and ordered that man who, not to mention his very great dignity, had certainly been Laena’s preserver, and was entitled to veneration for the zealous and distinguished service rendered in his private capacity, to lay bare his throat. Then, with absolute coolness, he cut off the head of Roman eloquence and the most renowned right hand of peace. Loaded with these, as with the honorable spoils of war, he returned gayly to the city. As he bore the infamous burden it never occurred to him that he was carrying the very head that once had pleaded eloquently for his own. Words are powerless to stigmatize this monster, since no other Cicero exists to deplore in fitting terms the misfortune that befell that one.” (Val. Max., v. 3. 4.)
Κασσίου δὲ ἀποθανόντος οὐδὲν ἐλπίζων ὅμοιον ἐν Βρούτῳ, Ῥοδίων ἐπελέξατο νῆας τριάκοντα, ὅσας ἐνόμιζε πληρώσειν, καὶ τὰς λοιπὰς διέπρησε χωρὶς τῆς ἱερᾶς, ἵνα μὴ δύναιντο νεωτερίσαι. καὶ ὁ μὲν τάδε πράξας ἀνήγετο ταῖς τε ἰδίαις καὶ ταῖς τριάκοντα, Κλώδιος δὲ ἐκ Βρούτου πεμφθεὶς ἐς Ῥόδον ἐπὶ νεῶν τρισκαίδεκα, τοὺς Ῥοδίους νεωτερίζοντας εὑρών (ἐτεθνήκει γὰρ ἤδη καὶ ὁ Βροῦτος), ἐξήγαγε τὴν φρουράν, οὖσαν ὁπλιτῶν τρισχιλίων, καὶ ἐς τὸν Παρμήσιον ἐχώρει.
The following is Plutarch’s account of Cicero’s death. “While these events were in progress Cicero was at his country place near Tusculum, and his brother was with him. When they heard of the proscription they decided to go down to Astura, Cicero’s place on the sea-coast, and sail thence to Macedonia to join Brutus, for it was already rumored that he had mastered those parts. They were conveyed, sorrow-stricken, in litters, and often stopped on the road, bringing their litters near together, and condoled with each other. Quintus was particularly disturbed as he remembered his needy condition. So he said that, as he had brought nothing from home, and as Cicero’s provision was also very scanty, it would be best for the latter to continue his flight, while Quintus should return home and provide himself with necessaries. After this was decided upon they embraced each other, wept, and went different ways. Quintus, not many days later, was betrayed by his servants to the pursuers, and was killed, together with his son. Cicero was conveyed to Astura, where he found a ship ready, in which he embarked and sailed as far as Circaeum with a favorable wind. The pilots wished to proceed from that place immediately, but Cicero, either fearing the sea, or not having lost all faith in Octavius, went ashore and travelled 100 stades by land toward Rome. Again he became anxious, changed his mind, and went back to the sea-shore at Astura. There he passed the night in great trouble and perplexity. He even contemplated going secretly to the house of Octavius and killing himself on his hearthstone, in order to bring divine vengeance upon him, but the fear of torture changed his purpose. Then, falling a prey to other perplexed and varying counsels, he allowed his servants to convey him by sea to Caieta, where he had a country place, an agreeable retreat in the summer season when the north winds blow fresh. There was a small temple on the sea-shore at this place, out of which crows flew in large numbers and with loud noise, to Cicero’s ship as it neared the land, and, alighting on either side of the yard-arm, some of them croaked and others pecked at the ends of the ropes. This seemed to all to be an ill omen. Nevertheless, Cicero disembarked and proceeded to his villa, where he went to bed to take a little rest. The crows alighted at the window, where they clamored tumultuously, and one of them flew down upon the bed where Cicero was covered up, and, little by little, drew the covering from his face with its beak. When the servants saw this they reproached themselves for remaining idle spectators of their master’s fate, and not rescuing him in his undeserved distress, while the brute creation was lending him aid. So, partly by entreaty, partly by force, they put him in the litter and carried him toward the sea-shore.”
ἀφίκετο δὲ αὐτοῖς καὶ Τουρούλιος, ἑτέρας ναῦς ἔχων πολλὰς καὶ χρήματα, ὅσα προεξείλεκτο ἀπὸ τῆς Ῥόδου. ἐς δὴ τὸ ναυτικὸν τοῦτο ὡς ἐς ἤδη τινὰ ἰσχὺν συνέθεον, ὅσοι ἦσαν κατὰ μέρη τῆς Ἀσίας ἐπὶ τῶν ὑπηρεσιῶν, καὶ αὐτὸ ὁπλίταις τε ἐξ ὧν ἐδύναντο ἀνεπλήρουν καὶ ἐρέταις ἐκ θεραπόντων ἢ δεσμωτῶν, ἐπιπλέοντες δὲ ταῖς νήσοις καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν νησιωτῶν. ἦλθον δʼ εἰς αὐτοὺς καὶ Κικέρων ὁ Κικέρωνος καὶ ὅσοι ἄλλοι τῶν ἐπιφανῶν ἐκ τῆς Θάσου διεπεφεύγεσαν. καὶ ταχὺ πλῆθος ἦν καὶ σύνταξις ἀξιόχρεως ἡγεμόνων τε καὶ στρατοῦ καὶ νεῶν. προσλαβόντες δὲ καὶ Λέπιδον μεθʼ ἑτέρας δυνάμεως, ἣ Βρούτῳ καθίστατο Κρήτην, πρὸς Μοῦρκον καὶ Δομίτιον Ἀηνόβαρβον ἐπὶ μεγάλης δυνάμεως ὄντας ἐς τὸν Ἰόνιον διέπλεον. καὶ αὐτῶν οἱ μὲν ἅμα τῷ Μούρκῳ διέπλευσαν ἐς Σικελίαν καὶ τὴν ἰσχὺν Πομπηίῳ Σέξστῳ συνῆψαν, οἱ δὲ κατέμειναν παρὰ Ἀηνοβάρβῳ καί τινʼ αἵρεσιν ἐφʼ ἑαυτῶν καθίσταντο. τοιάδε μὲν ἐκ τῶν λειψάνων τῆς παρασκευῆς Κασσίου τε καὶ Βρούτου πρῶτα συνίστατο, ὁ δὲ Καῖσαρ καὶ ὁ Ἀντώνιος ἐπὶ τῇ νίκῃ τῇ περὶ Φιλίππους ἔθυόν τε λαμπρῶς καὶ τὸν στρατὸν ἐπῄνουν.
“In the meantime the murderers were coming, under the command of the centurion Herennius and the military tribune Popilius, whom Cicero had once defended when he was prosecuted for killing his own father. Finding the doors closed, they broke them open, but they did not find Cicero, and those who were within said that they did not know where he was. It is said that a young man named Philologus, who had been educated by Cicero in the liberal arts and sciences, a freedman of his brother Quintus, told the tribune that they were carrying the litter through the bushy shaded walks toward the sea. The tribune took a few men and ran around to the exit of these paths. Herennius kept his course along the path, and when Cicero saw him he ordered the servants to put down the litter. Then, leaning his chin on his left hand as was his custom, he looked straight at the murderers. His haggard appearance and his unshaven face, wasted with anxiety, caused most of them to hide their own heads while Herennius murdered him. He was killed while holding his neck out of the litter, being then in the sixty-fourth year of his age. By Antony’s command his head was cut off and also the hands with which he wrote the Philippics, for he styled his orations against Antony the Philippics, and they are so called to this day.” (Life of Cicero, 47-48). It thus appears from Plutarch’s account, as well as from Livy’s, that, if Cicero had really desired to escape, he had abundant opportunity. It was perhaps the intention of Octavius and Lepidus that he should do so.
καὶ ἐς τὴν δόσιν τῶν ἐπινικίων ὁ μὲν ἐς τὴν Ἰταλίαν ἐχώρει, τήν τε γῆν αὐτοῖς διανεμήσων καὶ ἐς τὰς ἀποικίας καταλέξων ʽὧδε γὰρ αὐτὸς εἵλετο διὰ τὴν ἀρρωστίαν̓, ὁ δὲ Ἀντώνιος ἐς τὰ πέραν ἔθνη, συλλέξων τὰ χρήματα, ὅσα αὐτοῖς ὑπέσχηντο. διενείμαντο δὲ αὖθις ὅσα καὶ πρότερον ἔθνη καὶ ἐπελάμβανον τὰ Λεπίδου· τήν τε γὰρ Κελτικὴν τὴν ἐντὸς Ἄλπεων ἐδόκει Καίσαρος ἀξιοῦντος αὐτόνομον ἀφιέναι γνώμῃ τοῦ προτέρου Καίσαρος, ὅ τε Λέπιδος διεβάλλετο τὰ πράγματα Πομπηίῳ προδιδόναι· καὶ ὥριστο, εἰ Καίσαρι ψευδὴς ἡ διαβολὴ φανείη, ἕτερα ἀντιδοῦναι τῷ Λεπίδῳ.
Dion Cassius gives a very brief account of Cicero’s death, but adds some particulars about the indignities offered to his remains, viz.: “When the head of Cicero was brought to the triumvirs (for he was captured and killed while fleeing), Antony heaped many bitter reproaches on it, and then ordered that it be put in a more conspicuous place than the others on the rostra, so that in the place where Cicero had been heard speaking against himself it might be seen, together with the right hand, as that also had been cut off. Before it was removed Fulvia took the head in her hands, and, after abusing it with bitter words and spitting on it, placed it on her knees, opened the mouth, drew out the tongue, and pierced it with pins that she used in dressing her hair, all the time heaping disgusting epithets upon it.” (Dion, xlvii. 8.) AFTER the death of Cassius and Brutus, Octavius returned to Italy. Antony proceeded to Asia, where he met Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, and succumbed to her charms at first sight. This passion brought ruin upon them and upon all Egypt besides. For this reason a part of this book will treat of Egypt — a small part, however, not worth mentioning in the title, since it is incidental to the narrative of the civil wars, which constitutes much the larger portion. Other similar civil wars took place after Cassius and Brutus, but there was no one in command of all the forces as they had been. The later wars were sporadic. But, finally, Sextus Pompeius, the younger son of Pompey the Great, the last remaining leader of that faction, was slain, as Brutus and Cassius had been, and Lepidus was deprived of his share of the triumvirate, and the whole government of the Romans was centred in two only, Antony and Octavius. These events came about in the following manner. Cassius, surnamed Parmesius, had been left by Cassius and Brutus in Asia with a fleet and an army to collect money. After the death of Cassius, not anticipating the like fate of Brutus, he selected thirty ships belonging to the Rhodians, which he intended to man, and burned the rest, except the sacred one, so that they might not be able to revolt. Having done this he took his departure with his own ships and the thirty. Clodius, who had been sent by Brutus to Rhodes with thirteen ships, found the Rhodians in revolt (for Brutus also was now dead). Clodius took away the garrison, consisting of 3000 soldiers, and joined Parmesius. They were joined by Turulius, who had a numerous fleet and a large sum of money which he had previously extorted from Rhodes. To this fleet, which was now quite powerful, flocked those who were rendering service in various parts of Asia, and they manned the ships with soldiers as well as they could, and with slaves, prisoners, and inhabitants of the islands where they touched, as rowers. The son of Cicero joined them, and others of the nobility who had escaped from Thasos. Thus in a short time there was a considerable gathering and organization of officers, soldiers, and ships. Having received additional forces under Lepidus, who had brought Crete under subjection to Brutus, they made sail to the Adriatic and united with Murcus and Domitius Ahenobarbus, who had a large force under their command. Some of these sailed with Murcus to Sicily to join Sextus Pompeius. The rest remained with Ahenobarbus and formed a faction by themselves. Such was the first reassembling of what remained of the war preparations of Cassius and Brutus. After the battle of Philippi Octavius and Antony offered a magnificent sacrifice and awarded praise to their army. In order to provide the rewards of victory Octavius went to Italy to divide the land among the soldiers and to settle the colonies. He was chosen for this purpose on account of his illness. Antony went to the nations beyond the Aegean to collect the money that had been promised to the soldiers. They divided the provinces among themselves as before and took those of Lepidus besides. It was decided, at the instance of Octavius, to make Cisalpine Gaul free, as the elder Caesar had intended. Lepidus had been accused of betraying the affairs of the triumvirate to Pompeius. It was decided that if Octavius should find that this accusation was false other provinces should be given to Lepidus. They dismissed from the military service the soldiers who had served their full time, except 8000 who had asked to remain. These they took back and divided between themselves and formed them in praetorian cohorts. There remained to them, including those who had come over from Brutus, eleven legions of infantry and 14,000 horse. Of these Antony took, for his foreign expedition, six legions and 10,000 horse. Octavius had five legions and 4000 horse, but of these he gave two legions to Antony in exchange for others that Antony had left in Italy under the command of Calenus. Then Octavius proceeded toward the Adriatic. When Antony arrived at Ephesus he offered a splendid sacrifice to the city’s goddess and pardoned those who, after the disaster to Brutus and Cassius, had fled to the temple as suppliants, except Petronius, who had been privy to the murder of Caesar, and Quintus, who had betrayed Dolabella to Cassius at Laodicea. Having assembled the Greeks and other peoples who inhabited the Asiatic country around Pergamos, and who were present on a peace embassy, and others who had been summoned thither, Antony addressed them as follows: “Your King Attalus, O Greeks, left you to us in his will, and straightway we proved better to you than Attalus had been, for we released you from the taxes that you had been paying to him, until the action of popular agitators among us made these taxes necessary. When they became necessary we did not impose them upon you according to a fixed valuation so that we could collect an absolutely certain sum, but we required you to contribute a portion of your yearly harvest in order that we might share with you the vicissitudes of the seasons. When the publicans, who made these collections by the authority of the Senate, wronged you by demanding more than was due, Gaius Caesar remitted to you one-third of what you had paid to them and put an end to their outrages; for he even turned over to you the collection of the taxes from the cultivators of the soil. And this was the kind of man that our honorable citizens called a tyrant, and you contributed vast sums of money to the murderers of your benefactor and against us, who were seeking to avenge him.” “Now that a just fortune has decided the war, not as you wished, but as was right, if we were to treat you as allies of our enemies we should be obliged to punish you. But as we are willing to believe that you were constrained to this course by necessity, we will release you from the heavier penalty. We need money and land and cities as rewards for our soldiers. There are twenty-eight legions of infantry which, with the auxiliaries, amount to upwards of 170,000 men, besides cavalry and various other arms of the service. The sum that we need for such a vast number of men you can easily imagine. Octavius has gone to Italy to provide them with land and cities — to expropriate Italy, if we must speak plainly. That we may not be under the necessity of expelling you from your lands, cities, houses, temples, and tombs, we must count upon getting money from you, not all that you have (we could not think of that), but a part, a very small part, which, when you learn it, I think you will cheerfully pay. What you contributed to our enemies in two years (for you gave them the taxes of ten years in that time) will be quite sufficient for us; but it must be paid in one year, because we are pressed by necessity. As you are sensible of our leniency toward you, I will merely add that the penalty imposed is by no means equal to your deserts.”
ἀφίεσαν δὲ καὶ τῆς στρατείας τοὺς ἐντελῆ χρόνον ἐστρατευμένους χωρὶς ὀκτακισχιλίων, οὓς δεηθέντας ἔτι στρατεύεσθαι σφίσιν ἀποδεξάμενοι διείλοντο καὶ συνελόχισαν ἐς στρατηγίδας τάξεις. ὁ δὲ λοιπὸς αὐτοῖς στρατὸς ἐγένετο, σὺν τοῖς μεταθεμένοις ἀπὸ Βρούτου, τέλη πεζῶν ἕνδεκα καὶ ἱππέες μύριοις καὶ τετρακισχίλιοι. καὶ ἔσχεν αὐτῶν ὁ μὲν Ἀντώνιος διὰ τὴν ἀποδημίαν ἓξ τέλη καὶ ἱππέας μυρίους, ὁ δὲ Καῖσαρ ἱππέας τετρακισχιλίους καὶ τέλη πέντε· καὶ τῶνδε δὲ αὐτῶν Ἀντωνίῳ δύο ἔδωκεν, ἀντιληψόμενος ἐκ τῶν ὑπὸ Καληνῷ τοῦ Ἀντωνίου κατὰ τὴν Ἰταλίαν ὑπολελειμμένων. ὁ μὲν δὴ Καῖσαρ ἐπὶ τὸν Ἰόνιον ᾔει, ὁ δὲ Ἀντώνιος ἐν Ἐφέσῳ γενόμενος τῇ θεῷ μεγαλοπρεπῶς ἔθυε καὶ τοὺς καταφυγόντας ἐκ τῆς Βρούτου καὶ Κασσίου συμφορᾶς ἐς τὸ ἱερὸν ἱκέτας ἀπέλυε, χωρὶς Πετρωνίου, συνεγνωκότος ἐπὶ τῷ φόνῳ Καίσαρος, καὶ Κοΐντου, προδόντος ἐν Λαοδικείᾳ Κασσίῳ Δολοβέλλαν. τοὺς δὲ Ἕλληνας καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα ἔθνη τὴν ἀμφὶ τὸ Πέργαμον Ἀσίαν νέμονται, κατά τε πρεσβείας παρόντας ἐπὶ συνθέσει καὶ μετακεκλημένους συναγαγὼν ἔλεξεν ὧδε· ὑμᾶς ἡμῖν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἕλληνες, Ἄτταλος ὁ βασιλεὺς ὑμῶν ἐν διαθήκαις ἀπέλιπε, καὶ εὐθὺς ἀμείνονες ὑμῖν ἦμεν Ἀττάλου· οὓς γὰρ ἐτελεῖτε φόρους Ἀττάλῳ, μεθήκαμεν ὑμῖν, μέχρι δημοκόπων ἀνδρῶν καὶ παρʼ ἡμῖν γενομένων ἐδέησε φόρων. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐδέησεν, οὐ πρὸς τὰ τιμήματα ὑμῖν ἐπεθήκαμεν, ὡς ἂν ἡμεῖς ἀκίνδυνον φόρον ἐκλέγοιμεν, ἀλλὰ μέρη φέρειν τῶν ἑκάστοτε καρπῶν ἐπετάξαμεν, ἵνα καὶ τῶν ἐναντίων κοινωνῶμεν ὑμῖν. τῶν δὲ ταῦτα παρὰ τῆς βουλῆς μισθουμένων ἐνυβριζόντων ὑμῖν καὶ πολὺ πλείονα αἰτούντων, Γάιος Καῖσαρ τῶν μὲν χρημάτων τὰ τρίτα ὑμῖν ἀνῆκεν ὧν ἐκείνοις ἐφέρετε, τὰς δʼ ὕβρεις ἔπαυσεν· ὑμῖν γὰρ τοὺς φόρους ἐπέτρεψεν ἀγείρειν παρὰ τῶν γεωργούντων. καὶ τόνδε τοιόνδε ὄντα οἱ χρηστοὶ τῶν ἡμετέρων πολιτῶν τύραννον ἐκάλουν, καὶ ὑμεῖς αὐτοῖς συνετελεῖτε χρήματα πολλά, σφαγεῦσί τε οὖσι τοῦ ὑμετέρου εὐεργέτου, καὶ καθʼ ἡμῶν τῶν τιμωρούντων ἐκείνῳ. τῆς δὲ δικαίας τύχης οὐχ, ὡς ἐβούλεσθε, ἀλλʼ, ὡς ἦν ἄξιον, κρινάσης τὸν πόλεμον, εἰ μὲν ὡς συναγωνισταῖς τῶν πολεμίων ἔδει χρῆσθαι, κολάσεως ὑμῖν ἔδει, ἐπεὶ δὲ ἑκόντες πιστεύομεν ὑμᾶς κατὰ ἀνάγκην τάδε πεποιηκέναι, τῶν μὲν μειζόνων ἀφίεμεν, χρημάτων δὲ ἡμῖν δεῖ καὶ γῆς καὶ πόλεων ἐς τὰ νικητήρια τοῦ στρατοῦ, τέλη δέ ἐστιν ὀκτὼ καὶ εἴκοσιν ὁπλιτῶν, ἃ μετὰ τῶν συντασσομένων εἰσὶ μυριάδες ἀνδρῶν ὑπὲρ ἑπτακαίδεκα, καὶ τούτων ἄνευθεν οἱ ἱππέες καὶ ἕτερος ὅμιλος ἑτέρου στρατοῦ. ἐκ μὲν δὴ τοῦ πλήθους τῶν ἀνδρῶν τὸ πλῆθος τῆς χρείας συνορᾶν δύνασθε. τὴν δὲ γῆν καὶ τὰς πόλεις αὐτοῖς διαδώσων ὁ Καῖσαρ ἄπεισιν ἐς τὴν Ἰταλίαν, εἰ χρὴ τῷ λόγῳ τὸ ἔργον εἰπεῖν, ἀναστήσων τὴν Ἰταλίαν. ὑμᾶς δʼ, ἵνα μὴ γῆς καὶ πόλσων καὶ οἰκιῶν καὶ ἱερῶν καὶ τάφων ἀνίστησθε, ἐς τὰ χρήματα ἐλογισάμεθα, οὐδὲ ἐς ἅπαντα ʽοὐδὲ γὰρ ἂν δύναισθἐ, ἀλλὰ μέρος αὐτῶν καὶ βραχύτατον, ὃ καὶ πυθομένους ὑμᾶς ἀγαπήσειν οἴομαι. ἃ γὰρ ἔδοτε τοῖς ἡμετέροις ἐχθροῖς ἐν ἔτεσι δύο ʽἔδοτε δὲ φόρους δέκα ἐτῶν̓, ταῦτα λαβεῖν ἀρκέσει μόνα, ἀλλʼ ἑνὶ ἔτει· ἐπείγουσι γὰρ αἱ χρεῖαι. συνεῖσι δὲ τῆς χάριτος ὑμῖν τοσοῦτον ἂν ἐπείποιμι, ὅτι μηδενὸς ἁμαρτήματος ἴσον ἐπιτίμιον ὁρίζεται.