| GRECIANS AND ROMANS | |
| | |
| and Lacedaemon. In all Brutus life there is but this only | MARCUS |
| fault to be found, and that is not to be gainesaid: though | BRUTUS |
| Antonius and Octavius Caesar did reward their souldiers | Brutus fault |
| farre worse for their victory. For when they had driven all | wisely ex- |
| the naturall Italians out of Italie, they gave their souldiers | cused by |
| their landes and townes, to the which they had no right: | Plutarke. |
| and moreover, the only marke they shot at in all this warre | |
| they made, was but to overcome, and raigne. Where in | |
| contrarie manner they had so great an opinion of Brutus | |
| vertue, that the common voyce and opinion of the world | |
| would not suffer him, neither to overcome, nor to save him | |
| selfe, otherwise then justlie and honestly, and speciallie after | |
| Cassius death: whome men burdened, that oftentimes he | |
| moved Brutus to great crueltie. But nowe, like as the | |
| mariners on the sea after the rudder of their shippe is broken | |
| by tempest, do seeke to naile on some other peece of wodde | |
| in liew thereof, and doe helpe them selves to keepe them | |
| from hurt, as much as may be upon that instant daunger: | |
| even so Brutus, having such a great armie to governe, and | |
| his affaires standing verie tickle, and having no other Cap- | |
| taine coequall with him in dignitie and authoritie: he was | |
| forced to imploy them he had, and likewise to be ruled by | |
| them in many things, and was of mind him selfe also to | |
| graunt them any thing, that he thought might make them | |
| serve like noble souldiers at time of neede. For Cassius | |
| souldiers were verie evill to be ruled, and did shewe them | |
| selves verie stubborne and lustie in the campe, bicause they | |
| had no Chieftaine that did commaund them: but yet rancke | |
| cowards to their enemies, bicause they had once overcome | |
| them. On the other side Octavius Caesar, and Antonius, | |
| were not in much better state: for first of all, they lacked | |
| vittells. And bicause they were lodged in low places, they | |
| looked to abide a hard and sharpe winter, being camped as | |
| they were by the marish side, and also for that after the | |
| battell there had fallen plentie of raine about the autumne, | |
| where through, all their tents were full of myre and durt, | |
| the which by reason of the colde did freeze incontinentlie. | |
| But beside all these discommodities, there came newes unto | |
| them of the great losse they had of their men by sea. For | |
| 229 | |