Brutus

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,[*](Cf. Caesar, xliii. 1. ) Caesar appropriated them.

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.

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.

For when Faustus blustered among the boys and bragged about his father’s absolute power, Cassius sprang up and gave him a thrashing.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

But the contrary came to pass, as I have written fully in my Life of Caesar.[*](Chapter lxi.)

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;