188 
M E S S A L A, 
vice. In fuch eircumftances, Cicero was likely to con¬ 
cur in planting belide Brutus an oblerver, and an advifer, 
not lei's attacked to Oftavius than to himi'elf; and, as 
Mefiala was poliihed and accompiilhed, and but a few 
years older than Gftavius, it is likely that they formed a 
perianal friendlhip under the roof of Cicero. At lead, 
all the fubfequent conduct "of Mefiala indicates a perfi¬ 
dious profefiion of attachment to Brutus, and a fecret 
und'erfiandiug with tire young O (Slav i us. Shortly before 
the firft battle of Philippi, Mefiala. gave a birth-day din¬ 
ner to Cafiius, on whole generallhip the army relied, and 
obtained from him the mod important fituation, the com¬ 
mand of half of the right wing, which in the main was 
to be under the order: of Brutus. It had been deter¬ 
mined that this battle fliould take place, not as a meafure 
of military hut of -political policy. Fearing a general 
defertion, the officers had recommended it, and had 
drawn Brutus into their fentiment. In courfe, he headed 
thofe who had the word opinion of the cohelion and the 
eventual prevalence of the fenatorial party; in other 
words, the fecret friends of Oftavius. The armies were 
fo arranged, that Anthony became oppofed to Cafiius, 
and Octavius to Brutus. The battle had no fooner be¬ 
gun, than Mefiala, contrary to expectation, took a cir¬ 
cuit with his legions, indead of attacking the enemy in 
front, and fell on the camp of Octavius, which had been 
evacuated; piercing the augud but empty litter, and 
killing Lacedaemonians in buckram, of whom nothing 
was heard before or afterward. Brutus was alfo luccels- 
ful in the more lerious cor.fiitSl: but he was betrayed by 
the ardour of purluit into fo imprudent an advance, that 
he could not turn back in time to the relief of Cafiius, 
whom Anthony, in command of all the picked troops, 
. overthrew. The head of Cafiius was cut off by one Pin- 
darus; and this event, though by fome related as a 
fuicide, was clearly an afiafiination; and it is indeed ac¬ 
knowledged to have been fo by thole writers who delcribe 
Cafiius as having been difpatched by the lame dagger 
with which he had killed Caelar. 
“ Though the conduct of Mefiala during the fecond 
battle of Philippi has not been lb particularly deicribed, 
it may be inferred from that of his under-officer, the 
poet Horace. A loldier does not celebrate his own cow¬ 
ardice; conlequently, the relicla non bene parmula is to 
be interpreted as referring to treacherous and exemplary 
flight; under a colour of lelf-reproach, the poet is pro¬ 
claiming his fervice to Auguftus. Brutus had been com¬ 
pelled to fight both the battles of Philippi, contrary to 
his own judgment, and to the decided advice of Cafiius ; 
and he was on each occalion left in the lurch by the dif- 
perfion of his followers. Indeed, every thing fhows that 
he was furrounded by traitors, in whom his confiding 
nature had milled ; and, to conceal this treachery, the 
Commentaries of Casfar Auguftus afcribed to him a de¬ 
gree of I'uccefs which the event negatives. 
“ We now come to the moll momentous and the moft 
equivocal tranfaCtion in the life of Mefiala; namely, the 
part which he took refpebting the death of Brutus, and 
which has never been critically invelligated by any hifto- 
rian. The account given in Plutarch’s life of Brutus is 
every-wdiere ftiil implicitly trulled and followed ; al¬ 
though, by Plutarch’s exprels declaration, it is derived 
from Mcffiala, himfef This received account delcribes 
Brutus, after the lofs of the fecond battle, as applying 
in vain fuccefiively to Clitus, to Dardanus, and to Vo- 
lumnius, requefting that they would flay him; all thefe 
friends conlidering his refolution as rafli. If, however, 
Brutus wilhed to die like Cato, his own right arm was not 
unuled to warfare ; and thole, who alk of their acquaint¬ 
ance the weapons of fuicide, ufually intend to be prevented 
from their purpofe. The time was not come for Brutus 
to die ; his affairs w'ere not defperate; he had juft learnt 
that he was mailer of the fea ; and, even with the rem¬ 
nant of his ftiattered force, MeiTala w'as invited, after his 
death, to continue to make head agaiiilt the Imperialifts, 
Sextus Pompeius, under greater aclverfity of the caufe, 
could fb.ll at a later period conduct an honourable and 
efficacious reliltance. One Strato, however, an Epirote, 
who is laid to have fiudied rhetoric with Brutus, held 
the (word which difpatched him. What refults? Mefiala 
prelents this Strato to Auguftus Caffar, who confers on 
them both a fplendid independence; and Mefiala, though 
included for form’s lake in the profcription of the trium¬ 
virate, is exempted fpecifically from fuch profcription in 
the very lame breath which iflues the edibt. Mefiala next 
luffered himfeif to be named in the fienate as prefect of 
Rome, in order to prevent the party of Brutus from op- 
poling this defpotic inftitution; and in a few days re- 
ligned the fituation to an avowed creature of Auguftus. 
If Strato had been the cordial friend of Brutus, and had 
already concluded that the caufe of the republic was def¬ 
perate, and that it became the difappointed hero of inde¬ 
pendence to let the example of a dilarming relignation 
by recurring to a voluntary death; would Strato, with 
principles fo lofty, be found begging alms of the trium¬ 
virs, and be contented to owe a fortune to Auguftus ? or 
would Auguftus, peltered with the rapacity of hangers- 
on, have leletted for patronage fuch obfcure and claimlefs 
merit, when he had lo many fecret as well as public fer- 
vices to remunerate ? No. Some coloured curtain covers 
the naked truth. 
“ Why do the omen-mongers tells us that the fpirit of 
Cafiar appeared to Brutus when he was about to leave 
Alia, and again in his tent at Philippi; unlefs to mark 
the purluit of Nemelis, and the final arrival of an awful 
retribution ? The fpirit of Csefar appears, becaufe Brutus 
fell as Casfar fell. Omens are commonly invented by 
thole who, not daring to fpeak out, yet wilh to guide 
their readers to lome nefarious inference; and on this 
occalion probably they mean to infinuate-that aflaftina- 
tion attempted the life of Brutus in Afia, and took it at 
Philippi. Alfuming for a moment the harlh hypothelis 
that Strato was the hired murderer of Brutus, the con¬ 
duit of every one concerned becomes perfectly natural 
in the circumftance. It was for his employer to bring 
him to Auguftus; and it was for Auguftus to recompenle 
them both. The irony of MeiTala is intelligible when he 
prefents at court, with a lnivelling fneer, the man “ who 
did the liji kind office to his Brutus but, as a ferious 
appeal to the bounty of Auguftus, the words would be 
abfurd. 
“ Againft a fuppofition fo darkly injurious- to the me¬ 
mory of Mefiala, we invite a diffidence which we do not 
feel. Conlcious that it feems ungenerous to attack, and 
criminal to calumniate, the dead of other times, who may 
want a living defender, we advance into notice a point 
of view not hitherto taken, exactly while Mefiala poffefles 
in Mr. Berwick a learned and admiring advocate ; and we 
exhort him to endeavour to wipe off our alperfions, and 
to convince pofterity of the innocence of his hero. We 
lhall very willingly iurrender an opinion which is painful, 
whenever we are convicted of error in the court of criti¬ 
cal juftice.” Monthly Rev. Mar. 1814. 
MESS ALI'NA (Valeria), a daughter of MefialaBarbatus. 
She married the emperor Claudius, and difgraced herfelf 
by her cruelties and incontinence. Her hulband’s palace 
was not the only feat of her lafcivioufnefs ; but Ihe prof- 
tituted herfelf in the public ftreets, and few men there 
were at Rome who could not boaft of having enjoyed the 
favours of the impure Meflalina. Her extravagances at laft 
irritated her lrulband, who commanded her to appear and 
anlwer all the accufations which were brought againft her; 
upon which Ihe attempted to deftroy herfelf; and, when 
her courage failed, one of the tribunes who had been Pent 
to her, difpatched her with his fword. It is in fpeakino- 
of her debaucheries and lewdnels that Juvenal lays, Et 
laljata viris, necdum Jatiata, receffiit. Her name has become 
a common appellation to denote a woman of iliameiefs and 
inordinate lull. 
There was another perfon of this name, called alfo Sta- 
1 tilia, 
