IOO
FIEST BATTLE OF PHILIPPI.
triumvirs; they landed two or three different times on the
coast of Illyricuin, in separate squadrons, and advanced into
the country. Brutus and Cassius had no troops at all in Illy-
ricum and Macedonia, although they had no lack of soldiers;
and those which had been there must have been removed to
Thrace, not being strong enough to resist the enemy.
It was not till after the armies of Antony and Octavian had
established themselves, and spread over Greece, which sub-
mitted to them, that Brutus and Cassius collected their forces
in Asia, and crossed the Hellespont to march into Macedonia.
The armies of the Julian party had already advanced as far
as the narrow pass in the neighbourhood of Philippi, and the
gold mines of Mount Pangaeus. The pass was between the
mountains and the sea, and through it ran the road from
Amphipolis to Thrace. Brutus was guided by a faithful
Thracian ally, who enabled him to avoid the pass which
was already occupied by the enemy, so that the patriots were
enabled to pitch their camp near Philippi, opposite the enemy,
while their fleet was in the western seas.2 The question now
was, what was to be done? Opinions were very much divided,
Cassius, an experienced general, dreaded a quick decision; the
army, on the other hand, demanded an immediate attack upon
the enemy. There was no desertion among the troops, who
kept faithfully to their leaders. It might therefore have been
possible to protract the war, if the patriots had called the fleet
to their assistance; but they did not know that they could
have done so. If the fleet had arrived in the north of the
Aegean, and had acted for a time on the defensive against the
enemy, Antony and Octavian would probably have been obliged
to retreat for want of provisions, and then Brutus and Cassius
would perhaps have been successful. But unfortunately a battle
was resolved upon. Nearly all the Romans of rank and wealth
were in the armies of Brutus and Cassius; for the most distin-
guished persons had been proscribed, and the greater number
of them had taken refuge with Brutus and Cassius, whilst a
few only had gone to Sicily to Sex. Pompeius, who kept a
considerable fleet of privateers, with which men of honour
did not like to have anything to do, independently of the
2 The vision which Brntus is said to have had, before he set out on his march,
and which alluded to his fall at Philippi, appeared to him, according to some,
at Sardes, according to others at Abydos.—N.
DEATH OE CASSIUS.
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consideration that such a connexion would be likely to injure
the cause of the exiles with the Roman people.
In the battle which was fought near Philippi, Brutus com-
manded the left, and Cassius the right wing, or, according to
a more correct mode of speaking, division ; for, as in this case
there was no centre, we cannot speak of wings. They were
two distinct armies, drawn up side by side. In the battle
again a fatal accident occurred: Brutus, who faced the army
of Octavian, gained a victory without any difficulty. M. Mes-
sala, a very young man, who had been introduced to Brutus
by Cicero, distinguished himself above all the other generals.
He was a man whom Cicero had loved, and who was after-
wards, in the reign of Augustus, the most distinguished
person in his way. Octavian is generally charged with having
betrayed his cowardice by not taking part in the battle.
Antony himself afterwards brought this charge against him in
public as well as in private letters ; and the way in which some
writers try to defend Octavian is a very shallow one. His
army was probably commanded by Agrippa ; and if so, it was
certainly not in bad hands; but it was completely defeated,
with the exception of its centre, which made a vigorous
resistance; and the Julian camp was taken. On the other
hand, the army of Cassius, which faced that of Antony, was
decidedly beaten, but the camp was not taken, although the
army was to some extent dispersed. Cassius believed that
everything was lost, as the centre of Octavian’s army held
out; but as he could not form an accurate estimate of what
was going on on the left wing, he dispatched an officer to
bring him a report of the state of things in the army of
Brutus. As a considerable time elapsed before the officer
returned, either from accident or neglect on the part of the
messenger, Cassius became the more confirmed in his belief,
and requested one of his servants to put an end to his life.
There was a suspicion in antiquity that this servant had not
acted by his master’s command, but had treacherously mur-
dered him.
Brutus was greatly disheartened at this unfortunate occur-
rence ; but all was not yet lost. The battle had not been deci-
sive either way, and matters still stood almost as they had
been before the battle. Twenty days now passed away with-
out anything further being done. Had Brutus known that