CAS 



HOT 



CAS 



the Partliinns, the most formidable enemy 

 mans ever engaged, he succeeded in fortifying him- 

 self in Antioch. In this --ity he was bfsirja-ci, hut the 

 re unable to dispossess him, and he even oh- 

 tttned a considerable victory over them. In the ci- 

 vil contests that took {>!.. en Cxsar and Pom- 

 pey, and v, hicli terminated in the complete subver- 

 sion of the republic, Cassius warmly espoused the 

 cause of the latter, lie had the command of Pom- 

 . navy; but according to Cicsar, (lib. iii. il<- 

 licit. Civ.) this was only nominal, for the real com- 

 mand was entrusted to Bibultis. The issue of the 

 battle of Pharsalia, B. C. 4-8. is well known. The 

 hopes of the Pompeian faction were completely ex- 

 tinguished, and the path to absolute power laid open 

 to Caesar. Cassius, however, still entertained hopes 

 of successfully opposing the usurper, and for this 

 purpose directed his course with 70 ships to the coast 

 of Asia ; but Czsar had anticipated his design, and 

 Cassius was thus frustrated in the plan he had form- 

 ed. He therefore declared in favour of his oppo- 

 nent, as he probably was persuaded that opposition 

 was vain. Of his sincerity, strong suspicions may be 

 justly entertained ; for when Cicsar, by being created 

 perpetual dictator, actually enjoyed the most arbitra- 

 ry power that can be conceived, he, together with his 

 relation Brr.ttts, formed the scheme of assassinating 

 the tyrant who had annihilated the liberties of his 

 country. They succeeded in the attempt, and fled 

 from Rome. Cassius joined Brutus at Athene, and 

 having found means to collect a considerable body of 

 troops, he made himself master of the Syrian pro- 

 vince which had been assigned to him by Caesar. Do- 

 labella had been exceedingly desirous to make him- 

 uelf master of Syria, but was under the necessity of 

 retreating to Laodicea. Thither Cassius followed 

 him, and having taken the city, was guilty of the 

 most barbarous excesses. The history of Cassius at 

 this period is intimately connected with that of Rome, 

 we must therefore refer our readers to that article in 

 our work, in which his different expeditions shall be 

 detailed at length. In the mean time it may be ne- 

 cessary to remark, that he subdued the Rhodians, 

 and that in the city of Rhodes he committed the 

 greatest atrocities. He put 50 of the principal inha- 

 bitants to death, robbed the city of 8000 talents, de- 

 manded 500 more, and was guilty of the most rigid 

 exactions throughout the whole of those provinces 

 through which he passed. At Philippi, the united 

 forces of Brutus and Cassius unsuccessfully engaged 

 those of the triumvirs. Of the mode of his death 

 nothing certain is known. He was found dead in 

 his tent B. C. 42. He was a bold, resolute, turbu- 

 lent man ; and the unhappy times in which he lived, 

 strengthened his natural paasions. See BRUTUS ; 

 Plutarch ; and Middleton's Cicero, Sfc. 



CASSO, CASOS, or CASUS, the name of one of 

 the Cyclade* islands in the Mediterranean. It is 

 about three leagues in circumference, and is surround- 

 ed with several islands of a smaller size. The part 

 of the island which is cultivated is divided into por- 

 tions, and shared among the inhabitants, who, by 

 great toil and industry, hare rendered it surprisingly 

 fertile. Though the ground is stony, yet barley 

 and wheat are raised, and a very good wine is obtain- 

 ed from the vines. The land is sown at the begin- 



ning of the rainy season, which continues from Oc- 

 tober to February, and the crops are cut dov. 

 March. Excepting between October and I'Ybruary 

 no rain falls, the air is remarkably pure, and the tem- 

 perature is rendered delightful by the breezes from 

 the sea. When their services are not required for the 

 purposes of agriculture, the men are engaged in trade 

 with the different islands in the Archipelago, from 

 which they supply the deficiency in the produce of 

 their own island. The women of the island, who 

 wear a jacket, a sash, and a long cotton robe, arc- 

 principally employed in spinning cotton, or embroi- 

 dering, and in making the fine linens which fcrni 

 their dress. Poultry, eggs, rice, and wine, are the 

 principal articles of their food. The men dine to- 

 gether seated upon a carpet, and the women have a 

 separate apartment to themselves. The principal 

 amusements are dancing and music. " The popula- 

 tion of this island, " says Sonnini, " entirely compo- 

 sed of Greeks, is not considerable. The island i> 

 little frequented by shipping, its roads being difficult 

 of entrance, and its shore dangerous of access. The 

 inhabitants are but the more happy and free. The 

 Turks seldom venture to go thither, to exercise the 

 despotism with which they overwhelm the countries 

 subject to their empire ; and indeed those Greeks of 

 Casso, more independent and more secure in their pro- 

 perty, are more laborious than elsewhere." See Sava- 

 ry's Travels, and Sonnini's Travels in Greece and 

 Turkey, chap. x. p. 134." (*) 



CASSUPA, a genus of plants of the class Hex- 

 andria, and order Monogynia. See BOTANY, p. 19G; 

 and Humboldt and Bonpland's PlantceJEquitwctiules, 

 fol. p. 4-3. 



C ASSYT A, a genus of plants of the class Enne- 

 andria, and order Monogynia. See BOTANY, p. 207. 



CASTANEA, a genus of plants of the class Mo- 

 ncecia, and order Polyandria. See BOTANY, p. 326. 



CASTILE, (OLD) a province of Spain, lies on 

 the western side of the river Ebro, which, with the 

 mountain of Doea, separate it on the east from Ar- 

 ragon and Navarre. On the north, it is bounded 

 by Asturias and Biscay ; on the west, by the king- 

 dom of Leon ; and, on the south, it is divided from 

 New Castile by the mountains of Guadarrama. It 

 forms an irregular triangle, of which the western side 

 measures 59 leagues, the north-east 51, and the south- 

 east 53 ; and comprehends an area of 18,272 square 

 miles. " Old Castile," says Laborde, " presents a 

 succession of plains, or rather one expanse of down, 

 surrounded by lofty mountains, and occasionally in- 

 tersected by other mountains of equal elevation, and 

 diversified by hills, eminences, and gentle acclivities." 

 Its mountains are merely ramifications from the great 

 Pyrenean ridge, which runs along the northern pro- 

 vinces of Spain as far as the Atlantic, and consist 

 chiefly of the mountains of Burgos, called also the 

 mountains of Santander, the Sierra d'Occa, the Sier- 

 ra de Gogollos, and the Sierra Piquera. These 

 mountains contain several varieties of marble ; and 

 one in particular, which lies between Aspietia and 

 Vidana, is composed entirely of that substance, which 

 is a black marble veined with white. Copper mines 

 are found near d'Escary and Old Cok-mar; and in 

 the vicinity of the latter place, is a bed of jet, and se- 

 veral muriatic pyrites. A transparent vein of quartz, 



