Brutus

Perseus Greek · Perseus Greek · 400 sections

1.1.1
Marcus Brutus was a descendant of that Junius Brutus whose bronze statue, with a drawn sword in its hand, was erected by the ancient Romans on the Capitol among those of their kings, in token that he was most resolute in dethroning the Tarquins.
1.2.1
But that Brutus, like the tempered steel of swords, had a disposition which was hard by nature and not softened by letters, so that his wrath against the tyrants drove him upon the dreadful act of slaying his sons;
1.3.1
whereas this Brutus, of whom I now write, modified his disposition by means of the training and culture which philosophy gives, and stimulated a nature which was sedate and mild by active enterprises, and thus seems to have been most harmoniously attempered for the practice of virtue.
1.4.1
As a consequence, even those who hated him on account of his conspiracy against Caesar ascribed whatever was noble in the undertaking to Brutus, but laid the more distressing features of what was done to the charge of Cassius, who was a kinsman of Brutus, indeed, and his friend, but not so simple and sincere in his character.
1.5.1
Servilia, the mother of Brutus, traced her lineage back to Servilius Ahala, who, when Spurius Maelius was seditiously plotting to usurp absolute power, took a dagger under his arm, went into the forum, drew nigh the man, as if intending to confer privately with him, and when he inclined his head to listen, stabbed him to death.
1.6.1
This, at all events, is generally admitted; but as to the lineage of Brutus by his father’s side, those who display great hatred and malevolence towards him because of the murder of Caesar deny that it goes back to that Brutus who expelled the Tarquins, since no offspring was left to him when he had slain his sons. The ancestor of Brutus, they say, was a plebeian, son of a steward by the name of Brutus, and had only recently risen to office.
1.7.1
Poseidonius the philosopher, however, says that the two sons of Brutus who were of age perished according to the story, but that a third son was left, an infant, from whom the family descended.
1.8.1
He says, moreover, that there were certainly illustrious men of this house in his own day, some of whom called attention to their likeness in form and features to the statue of Brutus. Thus much, then, on this head.
2.1.1
Servilia, the mother of Brutus, was a sister of Cato the philosopher, and Brutus had a higher esteem for him than for any other Roman, Cato being his uncle and afterwards becoming his father-in-law.
2.2.1
There was practically no Greek philosopher with whom Brutus was unacquainted or unfamiliar, but he devoted himself particularly to the disciples of Plato.
2.3.1
To the New and Middle Academy, as they are called, he was not very partial, but clung to the Old. He was therefore always an admirer of Antiochus of Ascalon, whose brother Aristus he had made his friend and housemate, a man who in learning was inferior to many philosophers, but who in good sense and gentleness vied with the foremost.
2.4.1
Empylus also, who is often mentioned by Brutus himself in his letters, and also by his friends, as a housemate of his, was a rhetorician, and has left a brief but excellent account of the assassination of Caesar, entitled Brutus.
2.5.1
In Latin, now, Brutus was sufficiently trained for narrative or pleading; but in Greek he affected the brevity of the apophthegm and the Spartan, of which he sometimes gives a striking example in his letters
2.6.1
For instance, when he had already embarked upon the war, he wrote to the Pergamenians: I hear that ye have given money to Dolabella; if ye gave it willingly confess that ye have wronged me; if unwillingly, prove it by giving willingly to me.
2.7.1
Again, to the Samians: Your counsels are paltry, your subsidies slow; what, think ye, will be the end of this?
2.8.1
And in another letter: The Xanthians ignored my benefactions, and have made their country a grave for their madness; but the Patareans entrusted themselves to me, and now enjoy their freedom in all its fullness. It is in your power also to choose the decision of the Patareans or the fate of the Xanthians. Such, then, is the style of his remarkable letters.
3.1.1
While he was still a youth, he made a journey to Cyprus with his uncle Cato, who was sent out against Ptolemy.
3.2.1
And when Ptolemy made away with himself, Cato, who was himself obliged to tarry a while in Rhodes, had already dispatched one of his friends, Canidius, to take charge of the king’s treasures; but fearing that he would not refrain from theft, he wrote to Brutus bidding him sail with all speed to Cyprus from Pamphylia, where he was recruiting his health after a severe sickness.
3.3.1
Brutus set sail, but very much against his will, both because he had regard for Canidius, whom he thought to have been ignominiously discarded by Cato, and because on general grounds he considered such painstaking attention to administrative affairs to be illiberal and unworthy of himself as a young man addicted to letters.
3.4.1
However, he applied himself to this task also, and won Cato’s praise, and after converting the king’s property into money, took most of the treasure and set sail for Rome.
4.1.1
Here, when the state was rent by factions, Pompey and Caesar appealing to arms and the supreme power being confounded, Brutus was expected to choose the side of Caesar, since his father had been put to death a while before at the instigation of Pompey;
4.2.1
but thinking it his duty to put the public good above his own, and holding that Pompey’s grounds for going to war were better than Caesar’s, he attached himself to Pompey.
4.3.1
And yet before this he would not even speak to Pompey when he met him, considering it a great abomination to converse with the murderer of his father; now, however, looking upon him as his country’s ruler, he put himself under his orders, and set sail for Cilicia as legate with Sestius, to whom the province had been allotted.
4.4.1
But since there was nothing of importance for him to do there, and since Pompey and Caesar were now about to meet in a supreme struggle, he came of his own accord into Macedonia to share the danger.
4.5.1
It was then, they say, that Pompey was so filled with delight and admiration that he rose from his seat as Brutus approached, and in the sight of all embraced him as a superior.
4.6.1
During the campaign, for whatever part of the day he was not with Pompey, he busied himself with books and literature, not only the rest of the time, but even before the great battle.
4.7.1
It was the height of summer, the heat was great (since they had encamped in marshy regions), and they that carried the tent of Brutus were slow in coming.
4.8.1
But though he was thus all worn out, and though it was almost noon before he anointed himself and took a little food, nevertheless, while the rest were either sleeping or occupied with anxious thoughts about the future, he himself was busy until evening in making and writing out a compend of Polybius.
5.1.1
It is said, moreover, that Caesar also was concerned for his safety, and ordered his officers not to kill Brutus in the battle, but to spare him, and take him prisoner if he gave himself up voluntarily, and if he persisted in fighting against capture, to let him alone and do him no violence; and that Caesar did this out of regard for Servilia, the mother of Brutus.
5.2.1
For while he was still a young man, as it seems, Caesar had been intimate with Servilia, who was madly in love with him, and he had some grounds for believing that Brutus, who was born at about the time when her passion was in full blaze, was his own son.
5.3.1
It is said also that when the great conspiracy of Catiline, which came near overthrowing the city, had come to the ears of the senate, Cato and Caesar, who were of different opinions about the matter, were standing side by side, and just then a little note was handed to Caesar from outside, which he read quietly. But Cato cried out that Caesar was outrageously receiving letters of instruction from the enemy.
5.4.1
At this, a great tumult arose, and Caesar gave the missive, just as it was, to Cato. Cato found, when he read it, that it was a wanton bit of writing from his sister Servilia, and throwing it to Caesar with the words Take it, thou sot, turned again to the business under discussion. So notorious was Servilia’s passion for Caesar.
6.1.1
After the defeat at Pharsalus, when Pompey had made his escape to the sea and his camp was besieged, Brutus went out unnoticed by a gate leading to a place that was marshy and full of water and reeds, and made his way safely by night to Larissa.
6.2.1
From thence he wrote to Caesar, who was delighted at his safe escape, and bade him come to him, and not only pardoned him, but actually made him a highly honoured companion.
6.3.1
Now, since no one could tell whither Pompey was fleeing, and all were in great perplexity, Caesar took a long walk with Brutus alone, and sounded him on the subject.
6.4.1
Certain considerations advanced by Brutus made his opinion concerning Pompey’s flight seem the best, and Caesar therefore renounced all other courses and hastened towards Egypt.
6.5.1
But as for Pompey, he put in at Egypt, as Brutus conjectured, and there met his doom; as for Caesar, however, Brutus tried to soften him towards Cassius also.
6.6.1
He also served as advocate for the king of Africa, and though he lost the case, owing to the magnitude of the accusations against his client, still, by supplications and entreaties in his behalf he saved much of his kingdom for him.
6.7.1
And it is said that Caesar, when he first heard Brutus speak in public, said to his friends: I know not what this young man wants, but all that he wants he wants very much.
6.8.1
For the weight of his character, and the fact that no one found it easy to make him listen to appeals for favour, but that he accomplished his ends by reasoning and the adoption of noble principles, made his efforts, whithersoever directed, powerful and efficacious.
6.9.1
No flattery could induce him to grant an unjust petition, and that inability to withstand shameless importunity, which some call timidity, he regarded as most disgraceful in a great man, and he was wont to say that those who were unable to refuse anything, in his opinion, must have been corrupted in their youth.
6.10.1
When Caesar was about to cross over into Africa against Cato and Scipio, he put Brutus in charge of Cisalpine Gaul, to the great good-fortune of the province;
6.11.1
for while the other provinces, owing to the insolence and rapacity of their governors, were plundered as though they had been conquered in war, to the people of his province Brutus meant relief and consolation even for their former misfortunes.
6.12.1
And he attached the gratitude of all to Caesar, so that, after Caesar’s return, and as he traversed Italy, he found the cities under Brutus a most pleasing sight, as well as Brutus himself, who enhanced his honour and was a delightful companion.
7.1.1
Now that there were several praetorships to be had, it was expected that the one of greatest dignity, that is, the praetorship of the city, would fall either to Brutus or to Cassius; and some say that the two men, who were already slightly at variance for other reasons, were still more estranged by this circumstance, although they were relatives, since Cassius was the husband of Junia, a sister of Brutus.
7.2.1
But others say that this rivalry was the work of Caesar, who secretly favoured the hopes of each until, thus induced and incited, they entered into competition with one another.
7.3.1
Brutus, however, made the contest supported only by his fair fame and his virtue, as against many brilliant and spirited exploits of Cassius in the Parthian war.
7.4.1
But Caesar, after hearing the claims of each, said, in council with his friends: Cassius makes the juster plea, but Brutus must have the first praetorship.
7.5.1
So Cassius was appointed to another praetorship, but he was not so grateful for what he got as he was angry over what he had lost.
7.6.1
And in all other ways, too, Brutus had as large a share in Caesar’s power as he wished. Indeed, had he wished it, he might have been first among Caesar’s friends and exercised the greatest power;
7.7.1
but the party of Cassius drew him away from such a course. Not that he was reconciled to Cassius himself as yet, after their struggle for honours, but he gave ear to the friends of Cassius, who urged him not to suffer himself to be charmed and softened by Caesar, but rather to flee the tyrant’s kindnesses and favours, for these were shown to him, not to reward his virtue, but to root out his vigour and his haughty spirit.
8.1.1
However, even Caesar was not wholly without suspicion, nor free from the effects of accusations against Brutus, but, while he feared his high spirit, his great repute, and his friends, he had faith in his character.
8.2.1
Once, when he was told that Antony and Dolabella were plotting revolution, he said it was not the fat and long-haired fellows that troubled him, but those pale and lean ones; meaning Brutus and Cassius.
8.3.1
And again, when certain ones were accusing Brutus to him, and urging him to be on his guard against him, he laid his hand upon his breast and said: What? Think ye not that Brutus can wait for this poor flesh? implying that no one besides Brutus was fit to succeed him in such great power.
8.4.1
And verily it appears that Brutus might have been first in the city with none to dispute him, could he have endured for a little while to be second to Caesar, suffering his power to wane and the fame of his successes to wither.
8.5.1
But Cassius, a man of violent temper, and rather a hater of Caesar on his own private account than a hater of tyranny on public grounds, fired him up and urged him on.
8.6.1
Brutus, it is said, objected to the rule, but Cassius hated the ruler, and among other charges which he brought against him was that of taking away some lions which Cassius had provided when he was about to be aedile; the beasts had been left at Megara, and when the city was taken by Calenus, Caesar appropriated them.
8.7.1
And the beasts are said to have brought great calamity upon the Megarians. For these, just as their city was captured, drew back the bolts and loosened the fetters that confined the animals, in order that they might obstruct the oncoming foe, but they rushed among the unarmed citizens themselves and preyed upon them as they ran hither and thither, so that even to the enemy the sight was a pitiful one.
9.1.1
In the case of Cassius, then, they say this was the chief reason for his plotting against Caesar; but it is not so. For from the outset there was in the nature of Cassius great hostility and bitterness towards the whole race of tyrants, as he showed when he was still a boy and went to the same school with Faustus the son of Sulla.
9.2.1
For when Faustus blustered among the boys and bragged about his father’s absolute power, Cassius sprang up and gave him a thrashing.
9.3.1
The guardians and relatives of Faustus wished to carry the matter into court, but Pompey forbade it, and after bringing the two boys together, questioned them both about the matter.
9.4.1
Then, as the story goes, Cassius said: Come now, Faustus, have the courage to utter in this man’s presence that speech which angered me, and I will smash your face again.
9.5.1
Such was Cassius; but Brutus was exhorted and incited to the undertaking by many arguments from his comrades, and by many utterances and writings from his fellow citizens.
9.6.1
For instance, on the statue of his ancestor, the Brutus who overthrew the power of the kings, there was written: O that we had thee now, Brutus! and O that Brutus were alive!
9.7.1
Besides, the praetorial tribunal of Brutus himself was daily found covered with such writings as these: Brutus, art thou asleep? and Thou art not really Brutus.
9.8.1
These things were brought about by the flatterers of Caesar, who, among other invidious honours which they invented for him, actually put crowns upon his statues by night, hoping to induce the multitude to address him as king instead of dictator.
9.9.1
But the contrary came to pass, as I have written fully in my Life of Caesar.
10.1.1
Moreover, when Cassius sought to induce his friends to conspire against Caesar, they all agreed to do so if Brutus took the lead, arguing that the undertaking demanded, not violence nor daring, but the reputation of a man like him, who should consecrate the victim, as it were, and ensure by the mere fact of his participation the justice of the sacrifice;
10.2.1
otherwise they would be more timid in doing the deed and more suspected after they had done it, since men would say that Brutus would not have declined the task if the purpose of it had been honourable.
10.3.1
After reflecting on this, Cassius made Brutus his first visit since the quarrel above mentioned, and when they were again on a friendly footing, asked him whether he had made up his mind to attend the meeting of the senate on the Calends of March; for it had come to his ears, he said, that Caesar’s friends would then move to have him made king.
10.4.1
When Brutus answered that he should not attend, What, then, said Cassius, if we should be summoned? It would at once be my duty, said Brutus, not to hold my peace, but to defend my country and die in behalf of liberty.
10.5.1
Then Cassius, elated, said: But what Roman will consent to have thee die in such defence?
10.6.1
Dost thou not know thyself Brutus? Or dost thou think that thy tribunal was covered with inscriptions by weavers and hucksters, and not by the foremost and most influential citizens? From their other praetors they demand gifts and spectacles and gladiatorial combats; but from thee, as a debt thou owest to thy lineage, the abolition of the tyranny; and they are ready and willing to suffer anything in thy behalf, if thou showest thyself to be what they expect and demand.
10.7.1
After this, he embraced Brutus and kissed him, and thus reconciled they betook themselves to their friends.
11.1.1
There was a certain Caius Ligarius among the friends of Pompey, who had been denounced as such, but pardoned by Caesar.
11.2.1
This man, cherishing no gratitude for his pardon, but rather offended by the power which had put his life in jeopardy, was an enemy of Caesar, and one of the most familiar friends of Brutus.
11.3.1
Once, when this man was sick, Brutus came to see him, and said: O Ligarius, what a time this is to be sick! Ligarius at once raised himself on his elbow, clasped Brutus by the hand, and said: Nay, Brutus, if thou hast a purpose worthy of thyself, I am well.
12.1.1
After this, they secretly tested the sentiments of well known men in whom they had confidence, selecting not only from their intimates, but all whom they knew to be bold, brave, and contemptuous of death.
12.2.1
For this reason, too, they kept their plans a secret from Cicero, although he was foremost among them, not only for the confidence, but also for the good will which he inspired. They feared that the caution which time and old age had brought him, combined with his natural timidity, and further, his habit of calculating all the details of every enterprise so as to ensure the utmost safety, would blunt the edge of their ardour at a crisis which demanded speed.
12.3.1
Besides, Brutus also passed by, among his other friends, Statilius the Epicurean and Favonius the devoted follower of Cato. The reason was that some time before he had put them to a very similar test by the round-about method of a philosophical discussion, when Favonius had answered that civil war was worse than illegal monarchy; and Statilius had declared that it did not become a wise and sensible man to be thrown into turmoil and peril for the sake of feeble and foolish folk.
12.4.1
Labeo, however, who was present, argued against them both. At that time, on the ground that the question was rather difficult and hard to decide, Brutus held his peace, but afterwards imparted his purpose to Labeo, who readily concurred in it.
12.5.1
Then it was decided to bring over to their cause the other Brutus, surnamed Albinus; in other ways he was not an enterprising nor even a courageous man, but the large number of gladiators whom he was maintaining for the Roman spectacles made him powerful, and he had Caesar’s confidence.
12.6.1
When Cassius and Labeo discussed the matter with him, he would make no answer; but he had a private interview by himself with Brutus, and on learning that he was leader of the enterprise, readily agreed to co-operate.
12.7.1
The most and best of the rest also were won over by the reputation in which Brutus stood.
12.8.1
And although they exchanged neither oaths nor sacred pledges, they all kept the undertaking so much to themselves and were so secret in carrying it out together that, although it was foretold by the gods in prophecies and oracles and sacrificial omens, no one would believe in it.
13.1.1
Now Brutus, since he had made the foremost men of Rome for dignity, family, and virtue, dependent on himself, and since he understood all the danger involved, in public tried to keep his thoughts to himself and under control;
13.2.1
but at home, and at night, he was not the same man. Sometimes, in spite of himself, his anxious thoughts would rouse him out of sleep, and sometimes, when he was more than ever immersed in calculation and beset with perplexities, his wife, who slept by his side, perceived that he was full of unwonted trouble, and was revolving in his mind some difficult and complicated plan.
13.3.1
Porcia, as has been said, was a daughter of Cato, and when Brutus, who was her cousin, took her to wife, she was not a virgin; she was, however, still very young, and had by her deceased husband a little son whose name was Bibulus. A small book containing memoirs of Brutus was written by him, and is still extant.
13.4.1
Porcia, being of an affectionate nature, fond of her husband, and full of sensible pride, did not try to question her husband about his secrets until she had put herself to the following test.
13.5.1
She took a little knife, such as barbers use to cut the finger nails, and after banishing all her attendants from her chamber, made a deep gash in her thigh, so that there was a copious flow of blood, and after a little while violent pains and chills and fever followed from the wound.
13.6.1
Seeing that Brutus was disturbed and greatly distressed, in the height of her anguish she spoke to him thus:
13.7.1
Brutus, I am Cato’s daughter, and I was brought into thy house, not, like a mere concubine, to share thy bed and board merely, but to be a partner in thy joys, and a partner in thy troubles.
13.8.1
Thou, indeed, art faultless as a husband; but how can I show thee any grateful service if I am to share neither thy secret suffering nor the anxiety which craves a loyal confidant?
13.9.1
I know that woman’s nature is thought too weak to endure a secret; but good rearing and excellent companionship go far towards strengthening the character,
13.10.1
and it is my happy lot to be both the daughter of Cato and the wife of Brutus. Before this I put less confidence in these advantages, but now I know that I am superior even to pain.
13.11.1
Thus having spoken, she showed him her wound and explained her test; whereupon Brutus, amazed, and lifting his hands to heaven, prayed that he might succeed in his undertaking and thus show himself a worthy husband of Porcia. Then he sought to restore his wife.
14.1.1
A meeting of the senate having been called, to which it was expected that Caesar would come, they determined to make their attempt there; for they could then gather together in numbers without exciting suspicion, and would have all the best and foremost men in one place, who, once the great deed was done, would straightway espouse the cause of liberty.
14.2.1
It was thought, too, that the place of meeting was providentially in their favour; for it was one of the porticoes about the theatre, containing a session-room in which stood a statue of Pompey.
14.3.1
This statue the city had erected in his honour when he adorned that place with the porticoes and the theatre. Hither, then, the senate was summoned about the middle of March (the Romans call the day the Ides of March), so that some heavenly power seemed to be conducting Caesar to Pompey’s vengeance.
14.4.1
When the day came, Brutus girt on a dagger, to the knowledge of his wife alone, and went forth, while the rest assembled at the house of Cassius and conducted his son, who was about to assume what was called the toga virilis, down to the forum.

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