In the year of Caesar’s death, Brutus and Cassius were praetors. Both had been generals under Pompey.
Continuing Julius Caesar Murdered,
with a selection by Barthold Georg Niebuhr.
Previously in Julius Caesar Murdered.
Time: 44 BC
Place: Rome
In the year of Caesar’s death, Brutus and Cassius were praetors. Both had been generals under Pompey. Brutus’ mother, Servilia, was a half-sister of Cato, for after the death of her first husband Cato’s mother had married Servilius Caepio. She was a remarkable woman but very immoral and unworthy of her son; not even the honor of her own daughter was sacred to her. The family of Brutus derived its origin from L. Junius Brutus and from the time of its first appearance among the plebeians it had had few men of importance to boast of. During the period subsequent to the passing of the Licinian laws we meet with some Junii in the Fasti but not one of them acquired any great reputation. The family had become reduced and almost contemptible. One M. Brutus in particular disgraced his family by sycophancy in the time of Sulla and was afterward killed in Gaul by Pompey. Although no Roman family belonged to a more illustrious gens, yet Brutus was not by any means one of those men who are raised by fortunate circumstances. The education, however, which he received had a great influence upon him. His uncle Cato, whose daughter Porcia he married — whether in Cato’s lifetime or afterward is doubtful — had initiated him from his early youth in the Stoic philosophy and had instilled into his mind a veneration for it, as though it had been a religion.
Brutus had qualities which Cato did not possess. The latter had something of an ascetic nature and was, if I may say so, a scrupulously pious character; but Brutus had no such scrupulous timidity; his mind was more flexible and lovable. Cato spoke well but could not be reckoned among the eloquent men of his time. Brutus’ great talents had been developed with the utmost care and if he had lived longer and in peace he would have become a classical writer of the highest order. He had been known to Cicero from his early age and Cicero felt a fatherly attachment to him; he saw in him a young man who he hoped would exert a beneficial influence upon the next generation.
Caesar too had known and loved him from his childhood; but the stories which are related to account for this attachment must be rejected as foolish inventions of idle persons; for nothing is more natural than that Caesar should look with great fondness upon a young man of such extraordinary and amiable qualities. The absence of envy was one of the distinguishing features in the character of Caesar, as it was in that of Cicero. In the battle of Pharsalus, Brutus served in the army of Pompey and after the battle he wrote a letter to Caesar, who had inquired after him; and when Caesar heard of his safety he was delighted and invited him to his camp. Caesar afterward gave him the administration of Cisalpine Gaul, where Brutus distinguished himself in a very extraordinary manner by his love of justice.
Cassius was related to Brutus and had likewise belonged to the Pompeian party but he was very unlike Brutus; he was much older and a distinguished military officer. After the death of Crassus he had maintained himself as quaestor in Syria against the Parthians and he enjoyed a very great reputation in the army but he was after all no better than an ordinary officer of Caesar. After the battle of Pharsalus, Caesar did not at first know whither Pompey was gone. Cassius was at the time stationed with some galleys in the Hellespont, notwithstanding which Caesar with his usual boldness took a boat to sail across that strait and on meeting Cassius called upon him to embrace his party. Cassius readily complied and Caesar forgave him, as he forgave all his adversaries: even Marcellus, who had mortally offended him, was pardoned at the request of Cicero. Caesar thus endeavored to efface all recollections of the civil war.
Caesar had appointed both Brutus and Cassius praetors for that year. With the exception of the office of praetor urbanus, which was honorable and lucrative, the praetorship was a burdensome office and conferred little distinction, since the other praetors were only the presidents of the courts. Formerly they had been elected by lot but the office was now altogether in the gift of Caesar. Both Brutus and Cassius had wished for the praetura urbana and, when Caesar gave that office to Brutus, Cassius was not only indignant at Caesar but began quarrelling with Brutus also. While Cassius was in this state of exasperation, a meeting of the senate was announced for the 15th of March, on which day, as the report went, a proposal was to be made to offer Caesar the crown. This was a welcome opportunity for Cassius, who resolved to take vengeance, for he had even before entertained a personal hatred of Caesar and was now disappointed at not having obtained the city praetorship. He first sounded Brutus and, finding that he was safe, made direct overtures to him. During the night some one wrote on the tribunal and the house of Brutus the words, “Remember that thou art Brutus.”
Brutus became reconciled to Cassius, offered his assistance and gained over several other persons to join the conspiracy. All party differences seemed to have vanished all at once; two of the conspirators were old generals of Caesar, C. Trebonius and Decimus Brutus, both of whom had fought with him in Gaul and against Massilia and had been raised to high honors by their chief. There were among the conspirators persons of all parties. Men who had fought against one another at Pharsalus now went hand-in-hand and entrusted their lives to one another. No proposals were made to Cicero, the reasons usually assigned for which are of the most calumniatory kind. It is generally said that the conspirators had no confidence in Cicero, an opinion which is perfectly contemptible. Cicero would not have betrayed them for any consideration but what they feared were his objections. Brutus had as noble a soul as anyone but he was passionate; Cicero, on the other hand, who was at an advanced age, had many sad experiences and his feelings were so exceedingly delicate that he could not have consented to take away the life of him to whom he himself owed his own, who had always behaved most nobly toward him and had intentionally drawn him before the world as his friend.
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