Brutus

The soldiers of Antony were engaged in running trenches from the marshes, at which they were encamped, into the plain, thus cutting off Cassius from access to the sea.

Octavius was quietly watching the course of events,—not being present in person, owing to sickness, but his forces for him; they had no expectation at all that their enemies would give battle, but thought they would merely sally out against the works and with light missiles and clamorous cries try to disturb the workers in the trenches.

So paying no attention to their opponents, they were amazed at the loud and confused outcries which came to them from the trenches.

At this point, while tickets with the watchword written upon them were being carried to his officers from Brutus, and while Brutus himself was riding along past the legions and encouraging them, few of his men succeeded in hearing the watchword as it was passed along, but most of them, without waiting for it, with one impulse and with one war-cry, rushed upon the enemy.

This disorder threw the legions out of line and touch with one another, and first that of Messala, then those that had been drawn up with it, went beyond the left wing of Octavius;

they had only a brief contact with its outermost lines, and slew only a few men, but outflanked it and burst into their camp.

And Octavius, as he himself tells us in his Commentaries, in consequence of a vision which visited one of his friends, Marcus Artorius, and ordered that Octavius should rise up from his bed and depart from the camp, barely succeeded in having himself carried forth, and was thought to have been slain.

For his litter, when empty, was pierced by the javelins and spears of his enemies. Those who were taken prisoners in the camp were slaughtered, and two thousand Lacedaemonians who had recently come as auxiliaries were cut to pieces along with them.

The legions of Brutus which had not outflanked the forces of Octavius, but engaged them in battle, easily routed them in their confusion and cut to pieces three legions at close quarters; then they dashed into their camp with the fugitives, borne on by the impetus of their victory and carrying Brutus with them.

But here the vanquished saw an opportunity of which the victors were not aware; for they charged upon the broken and exposed parts of their opponents’ line, from which the right wing had been drawn away in pursuit. The centre did not yield to them, but fought them vigorously; the left wing, however, owing to their disorder and ignorance of what had happened, they routed and pursued into their camp, which they sacked.

Neither of the generals was with his men; for Antony, we are told, turned aside from the attack at the outset and withdrew into the marsh, and Octavius was nowhere to be seen after he had forsaken his camp; indeed, sundry soldiers declared that they had slain him, showing Brutus their bloody swords and describing his youthful appearance.

But presently the centre drove back their opponents with great slaughter, and it appeared that Brutus was completely victorious, as Cassius was completely defeated.