BRUTUS. 



vo^1l^^g to kindle the flsmc of pntiiotifin in lis brcnft. He 

 caiil'cd '.he name of his l\i;>p.>kd nnccllor, Jiiiiiiis lirutus, 

 to be louiivlca in liib can ; and Kd liim to bi-lii-vo that the 

 Ro;Tnns cxprded his airmniiii^ the hereditary oITkc of rtf- 

 cuinjj tiKin fro n a tyrant. Thi-l.: arguments at lengtli pre- 

 va:l-d, a d Urutuj agrnd to talte the lead in a coiifpiracy 

 againft Cxiar's life, H's cliarafttr inducid ftvcral other 

 cniintnt citi/ciii to join in tlie dclign ; and ihey rcfolvcd to 

 execute it oh the ides of Marcir ( March ly) A. U. 710, 

 B. C. 44. It it faid, that when C-.tfar faw hii beh)ved 

 Brutus annonjT the confpirators, with his dagc;er diawn 

 againll him, he delifted from any farther klfdcfence, 

 wrapped his h- aJ in his mantle, and furrcndercJ himftlf to 

 hii fate. Averfe from needkfs cfTufion of blood, Brntus, by 

 inipoliiic forbearance, p.'rnutted Antony to cfcape ; and by 

 rcadinefs to acq^icice in the reading of Cafar's "iH. a"d ^Y 

 the pompous loleninities of his funeral, he furnlihed Antony 

 with a pretc. ice for exciting in the minds of the people a 

 reverence for Iiis memory, and a dtttllation againll his 

 iiuirderers ; in confequence of which he and ins party were 

 obliged to fecure their lives by retiring from Rome to An- 

 lium. Afterwards, when Odavianus joined Antony, and 

 they concuired in atTnining the fovereiirii power, he and his 

 faithful Portia quittul Italy, and fct fail for Athens. Here, 

 at convLiiieni intervals, he renewed the prolecution of his 

 philofophieal (ludics ; » hihl at the fame time he fecretly 

 ])repared for war, and fent si meircnger to Macedonia, to en- 

 gage t'ne Roinani of that province in the party ot the rtpnb- 

 lie, and to facilitate his admiffion into it as gov rnor for the 

 fcnjte. Having obtained a complete fnpply of men, arms, 

 and money, he marched into Macedonia ; and gaii;ed pof- 

 feffion of the army, and of tlie pcifon, of Caius, the brother 

 of Antony, who had been deputed to feize Dyrrachium 

 and Apolloiiia. 



When Ortavianus became fole mafter of Rome, he pro- 

 ceeded to the condemnation of all who had been concerned 

 in the muider of his adopted father; and the names of 

 Brutus and Caflius were inferted, much to the regret and 

 grief of the people, in the bloody roll of profcription. 

 They, however, were at this time in the command of powtT- 

 ful armies, which fpeedily formed a junftion at Smyrna. 

 Having performed fome feparate fervices in the fubjugation 

 of thofe maritime powers, the Rhodians and Lydians, they 

 met again at Sardis ; and determined to diredl their march to 

 the ftiaits of Hellefpont, in order to pafs over into Europe, 

 for the purpofe of oppofing the progrefsof Antony and Oc- 

 tavianus, who had now arrived at Macedon. It was in the 

 courfe of this march that the frightful apparition, recorded 

 by Plutarch and other hiftorians, prefented itielf to Brutus, 

 and which, under the appellation of his evil genius, an- 

 nounced another vifit to him at Philippi. Caffias afcribcs 

 this phenomenon to the ilUifion of a troubled imagination, 

 under the influence of anxiety and bodily fatigue ; and if it 

 be any thing more than an idle fabrication, to this caufe it 

 may he reafonahly attributed. On the plains of Philippi 

 the two hollile armies alTembled for the decifion of the inte- 

 relling conteil. Brutus and Cafiius having fettled their plan 

 of condudl, if the iffue of this conflitl flionld prove unfa- 

 vourable, they prepared for aftion. In the firft battle 

 lirutus defeated Odavianus, but in the ardour of the con- 

 ted he left Cafiius unfupportcd, and thus occalioned his de- 

 feat and deatd. This event he grievoufly deplored, and 

 fticdding many tears over the body of his friend, bewailed 

 the lofs of him under the honourable appellation of " the 

 lad of the Romans." He had now the fole command of a 

 numerous and mutinous army ; which compelled him to rifle 

 another engagement, having firft put to death all the flaves 



whom he had made prifoners, and having promifcd t» hid 

 foldiers, in cafe of vidlory, the pillage of Theflalouica and 

 I,aced;cmon. In the feeond battle the wing wliich he 

 commanded routed that of Oftavianus, wliillt Antony de- 

 feated the other committed to the coiiduCl oi Calnub's lieu- 

 ttn.uit. But, inrtead of puriuing this advant:i(;e by follow- 

 ing the fugitives, this experienced general ava'led liimfelt of 

 it by turning round on the rear of Brutus, and entirely 

 breaking and difperfiiig his troops. Brutus having efcaped 

 being made prifoner by the heroic friendfliip of I^icilius, 

 who furrendered himielf under the name of Brutus, and who 

 was generouflv faved by Antony after the difcovery of the 

 fraud, fled with a few friends to a retired valley, where he 

 fpent an anxious night. With the returning dawn, he per- 

 ceived that he was furroundcd by the enemy, and conjured 

 fome of his domedies to put an end to his lit'e. Upon their 

 refufal, he dirmilfcd them with a requed that they would 

 provide for their own fatety ; and he then renewed his ap- 

 plication to Strato, an Epirote, and his former fellow ilu- 

 dent ; but Strato perfided in iiis denial, till Brutn^ called 

 upon a flave to perform the fatal office. Upon this the 

 ger.erous Greek exclaimed, " Forbid it. Cods, that it 

 lliould ever be faid, that Brutus died by the hand of a flave 

 for want of a friend !" and covering his face with his left 

 hand, prefented with his right his fword, upon which Bru- 

 tus threw hinifelf with fuch violence that it pierced through 

 his body, and he indantly expired. Thus periflied, in the 

 4;d year of his age, according to Cicero, but in the 37th 

 according toVclLins Paterculus, one of the mod irreproach- 

 able charafters in Roman hidorv ; according to Blair'a 

 table, A.U. 712, B.C. 42. 



To his generofity, humanity, uprightnefs, and well- 

 principled virtue, public and private, writers of all parties 

 have borne teftimony ; and thofe who have condemned the 

 aft of affafllnating Cirfar, have aferibed it, on the part of 

 Brutus, to patriotic motives. Indeed, Antony himfelf did 

 him the judice to fay, that he " was the only one of the con- 

 fpiracy who entered into it out of principle ; that the reft, 

 from private malice, rofe up againft the man, he alone 

 againd the tyrant." No man in public lite feems to have 

 fet up virtue more fincerely as the objetl of his venerajioii 

 and i)urluit than Brutus ; and it does not, therefore, feem 

 probable, that, according to the leport of fome writers, his 

 lad fpeech fliouldbe a confeffion of error in having followed an 

 einpty name. " His memory," fays one of his biographers, 

 •' WHS chcridied and honoured as long as a fpark of Roman 

 fpirit furvived the lofs of conditutional freedom ; and the 

 names of Brutus and liberty are to this day iufeparably 

 aflfociated." His body was treated with refpedl by Antony ; 

 but the vmdiflive Oiiavianus caufed the head to be cut off, 

 in order to expofe it at the feet of Caefar's ftatue. But his 

 dedinalion was defeated, as it was thrown over-board in a 

 ftorm. The remains were honourably burnt by order of 

 Antony, and the adies fent in an urn to Servilia. Plutarch's 

 Brutus, apud Op. t. i. p. 984. Middleton's Life of Cicero, 

 vol. li. p. 226. Anc. Un. Hill. vol. xi. and xii. 



Bkutus, in Entumology, a fpecies of Papilio (F.q. 

 Achiv.) The wings are white with a black border ; on the 

 lower pair beneath, a fufcous band. This inhabits Africa ; 

 it is a large and rare infeft. Cramer defcribes a variety of 

 it under the name of Merope. 



Brutus, in Geography, a military towndiip of America, 

 in New York, through which runs the river Seneca, and 

 where it receives the waters of Owafco lake, pafling from 

 the fouth-ead through the town of Aurelius and Scipio. It 

 lies 1 1 miles N. E. from the north end of Cayuaga lake, 

 and ly S.S.E. from lake Ontario. 



BRUTZ, 



