BRUTUS. 



ward VI. md endowed hy bi(hop Fifijames, and his brother 

 Cr Ji)hn, loiil chief jiiftice. Bruton conlills of 333 houiVs, 

 containing 1651 inhabitants, the gi eater part of whom are 

 employed in aKriciihiirc : for though Lthind tells us, that 

 in his time " Brcwton was much occupied with making of 

 clothe," yit at prefcnt the only manufafture is a little 

 hofury, and liik reeling, at the latter of wliich three or four 

 hundred younjj pcrfons are employed. The church, dedi- 

 cated to St. Mary, is a large ftrufture, and has two qua- 

 drangular towers, one occupying the well end, and the 

 other riling from one fide of the north aile. The latter 

 fecms to have been the original tower, but the former is the 

 handfomeft. The interior of the church is well ornamented, 

 and contains a great number of monuments. Collinfon's 

 Hiftory of Somerfetfhire, vol. i. 4to. Maton'iTour through 

 the Wedtrn Counties, vol. ii. Svo. 



BRUrUS, or Brute, in Bk^rnphy, the lirft king of 

 Britain, according to the fabulous relation of JefTry or 

 Geoffrey of Monmouth. See Britain. 



Brutus, Lucius Junius, the founder of the Roman 

 republic, was the foil of Marcus Junius, a wealthy patri- 

 cian, who had married the daughter of Tarquin the Proud, 

 with whom terminated the race of kings at Rome. The 

 father and brother of Brutus were affafliuated by order of 

 this tyrant at the beginning of his reign ; and Brutus him- 

 felf efeaped by feigning idiotifm, whence it is faid the name 

 of " Brutus" was dctived. Under this charafter he was 

 admitted into the royal palace, brought up with the king's 

 fons, and regarded merely as the objeft of their diverlion. 

 On occafion of a plague which broke out at Rome, Tar- 

 quin fent his fons to confult the oracle of Delphi as to the 

 caufe and cure of the contagion ; and Brutus alfo was or- 

 dered to accompany them for their amufement. The princes 

 prepared magnificent prefents for Apollo ; but their compa- 

 nion is faid to have offered to the god an elder ftick, en- 

 dofing a rod of gold, and ferving as an emblem of himfelf. 

 It is further reported, that when the princes made an en- 

 quiry, whith of them fliould be king of Rome, the oracle 

 replied, that the government (honld be refcrved for him who 

 fliould firft kifs his mother ; and that they, interpreting this 

 anfwer literally, agreed to kifs their mother at the fame time, 

 and to reign jointly. But Brutus, interpreting the refponfe 

 of the oracle allegorically, fell down upon the earth, after 

 his return to Italy, and kilTtd it, as the common mother of 

 all mankind. Whatever may be thought of this llory, it is 

 certain, that the tragical death of Lucretia (feeLucRE- 

 tia) roufed the dormant and difguifed fpirit of Brutus; 

 and that, having fnatched the poignard out of her bofom, 

 he vowed vengeance on the aggrefTors, and excited her re- 

 lations to concur with him in retaliating on Tarquin and 

 his family the difhonour (he had fuffered, and the lamenta- 

 ble event in which it had terminated. Accordingly they all 

 bound themfelves by a folemn oath to execute their purpofe, 

 and agreed to follow the counfel and example of Brutus, 

 who feemed now, by a kind of extraordinary infpiratiou, to 

 Lave recovered his faculties, and to pofiefs talents, which 

 had hitherto been concealed, fit for condufting their delibe- 

 rations, and fecuring their profperous ilfue. The gates 

 \y»re immediately (hut, the fenate was aflembled, and a pub- 

 lie decree was propofed and carried for banifhing the king, 

 annihilating the royal form of government, and eftablifhing 

 a commonwcahh. Brutus, and Collatinus, the hufband of 

 Lucretia, were elefted as the firft chief raagiftrates of the 

 ftate, under the denomination of " confuls ;" an important 

 change in the conftitution of the Roman government, which 

 took place in the year of Rome 245, B. C. 509. This 

 change, fo haftily concerted and accompljftved, although it 



had obtained the concurrence of the ftnate, and of the 

 people, excited an alarm amongft tliofe v»ho were attached 

 to the old conftitution, and particularly among the young 

 nobility, who were zealous partizans of the dethroned and 

 expelled fovereign. In the number of the malcontents, were 

 the two fons of Brutus, and three nephews of Collatinus. 

 Tlicfe were adive in the confpiracy formed agalnft the new 

 government ; and they concurred with others in binding 

 themfelves by a very folemn oath to murder the confuls, and 

 to re-eftablifti monarchy. Wiiilft they were concerting mea- 

 fures fortius purpofe, the plot was ditelofed by a flave to 

 P. Valerius, a patriotic Iciiator, and orders were iffued for 

 apprehending them. When the fons of Brutus, venerated 

 by the people as their deliverer, appeared before the con- 

 fular tribunal, the attendant multitude was fei/.ed with a 

 general panic ; and as foon as they were convldcd of 

 the crime alleged againft them, the lenators, in a kind of 

 confiifed murmur, exprefTed their anxiety and wilhes, by 

 uttering the words, " Banifh them ! banilli them I" Colla- 

 tinus wept, and the (lern patriot Valerius was iilent. But 

 the father, facrilioing private feelings to the public good, 

 and apprized of the neceflity of fupprefTing rebellion by an 

 awful example of punifhment, with a fteady countenance, 

 and firm tone of voice, gave orders to the liftors to execute 

 the law on his fons. The diftrefs cf the affembied niulti- 

 tudc on this folemn occalion was fuch as no words can de- 

 fcribe ; mournful looks and fecret groans pleaded for pity ; 

 and when the conful feemed to pay no regard to their an- 

 xiety and tears, they loudly remonftrated, and exclaimed 

 with one voice, " We give them back to their country, and 

 to their family." Neither the intercelTions of the people, 

 nor the fuppliant cries of the criminals, could alter the 

 fixed purpofe of Brutus, who witneiRd the execution of 

 the fentenee ; and having feen them ftripped, beaten with 

 rods, and beheaded, retired from the tribunal, to indulge, 

 without doubt, thofe parental feelings which the neceffity 

 of the times had induced him to dlfgulfe and reftrain. Of 

 his conduft on this occalion very different fentiments have 

 been entertained. Whilft feme have extolled, others have 

 condemned it. But to the judgment of fobcr reafon, it 

 exhibits a noble example of the triumph of public virtue 

 over private affeftions ; and the difplay ot it required that 

 fterniiefs of temper, and thofe peculiar ideas of the extent 

 of parental authority, which leem to have charafterized 

 this ancient Roman. Coliatiuuo was more flexible ; and he 

 wilhed to fpaie his nephews, and to fupprcfs the evidence 

 which the Have Vindicius had adduced againft them. The 

 zeal of Valerius was roufed ; and whilft the people were 

 tumultuous, Brutus returned, and having again afcended 

 the tribunal, jullified his own condutl, but referred the fate 

 of ths other criminals to the decifion of the people, who 

 concurred in condemning them, and ordering them for exe- 

 cution. Collatinus, however, accufcd by Brutus for his 

 weaknefs, and want of patriotlfm, was obliged to renounce 

 his authority, and to retire to Lavinium, where he lived 

 privately to an advanced age. Upon his removal, Brutus, 

 in order to obviate every fufpicion that it was his intention 

 to govern fingly, convoked the people by centuries in the 

 Campus Martins, for the eleftion of a new conful ; and 

 Valerius, afterwards known by the name of " Poplicola," 

 whofe meritorious conduft in the difclofure of the confpi- 

 racy has been already mentioned, was chofen to fupply the 

 vacancy. Some difference occurs in the relation of thefe 

 events by Dionyfius of Halicarnaffus, Livy, and Plutarch ; 

 but they all agree in the principal fadl, refpefting the con- 

 duft of Brutus towards his fons. During the confulate of 

 Brutus and Valerius, Tarquin and his partizans made fome 



vigorous 



