ἐπεὶ δὲ τῶν διαθηκῶν τῶν Καίσαρος ἀνοιχθεισῶν εὑρέθη δεδομένη Ῥωμαίων ἑκάστῳ δόσις ἀξιόλογος, καί τὸ σῶμα κομιζόμενον διʼ ἀγορᾶς ἐθεάσαντο ταῖς πληγαῖς διαλελωβημένον, οὐκέτι κόσμον εἶχεν οὐδὲ τάξιν αὐτῶν τὸ πλῆθος, ἀλλὰ τῷ μὲν νεκρῷ περισωρεύσαντες ἐξ ἀγορᾶς βάθρα καί κιγκλίδας καί τραπέζας ὑφῆψαν αὐτοῦ καὶ κατέκαυσαν, ἀράμενοι δὲ δαλοὺς διαπύρους ἔθεον ἐπὶ τὰς οἰκίας τῶν ἀνῃρηκότων ὡς καταφλέξοντες, ἄλλοι δὲ ἐφοίτων πανταχόσε τῆς πόλεως συλλαβεῖν καί διασπάσασθαι τοὺς ἄνδρας ζητοῦντες.
But when the will of Caesar was opened and it was found that he had given every Roman citizen a considerable gift, and when the multitude saw his body carried through the forum all disfigured with its wounds, they no longer kept themselves within the restraints of order and discipline, but after heaping round the body benches, railings, and tables from the forum, they set fire to them and burned it there; then, lifting blazing brands on high, they ran to the houses of the murderers with intent to burn them down, while others went every whither through the city seeking to seize the men themselves and tear them to pieces.
οἷς ἐκείνων μὲν οὐδεὶς ἀπήντησεν, ἀλλὰ εὖ πεφραγμένοι πάντες ἦσαν. Κίννας δέ τις τῶν Καίσαρος ἑταίρων ἔτυχε μὲν, ὥς φασι, τῆς παρῳχημένης νυκτὸς ὄψιν ἑωρακὼς ἄτοπον ἐδόκει γὰρ ὑπὸ Καίσαρος ἐπὶ δεῖπνον καλεῖσθαι, παραιτούμενος δὲ ἄγεσθαι τῆς χειρὸς ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ μὴ βουλόμενος, ἀλλʼ ἀντιτείνων. ὡς δʼ ἤκουσεν ἐν ἀγορᾷ τὸ σῶμα καίεσθαι τοῦ Καίσαρος, ἀναστὰς ἐβάδιζεν ἐπὶ τιμῇ, καίπερ ὑφορώμενός τε τὴν ὄψιν ἅμα καί πυρέττων.
Not one of these came in their way, but all were well barricaded. There was a certain Cinna, however, one of the friends of Caesar, who chanced, as they say, to have seen during the previous night a strange vision. He dreamed, that is, that he was invited to supper by Caesar, and that when he excused himself, Caesar led him along by the hand, although he did not wish to go, but resisted. Now, when he heard that they were burning the body of Caesar in the forum, he rose up and went thither out of respect, although he had misgivings arising from his vision, and was at the same time in a fever.
καί τις ὀφθέντος αὐτοῦ τῶν πολλῶν ἔφρασεν ἑτέρῳ τοὔνομα πυνθανομένῳ, κἀκεῖνος ἄλλῳ, καί διὰ πάντων εὐθὺς ἦν ὡς οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ἀνὴρ τῶν ἀνῃρηκότων Καίσαρα καί γὰρ ἦν τις ὁμώνυμος ἐκείνῳ Κίννας ἐν τοῖς συνομοσαμένοις, ὃν τοῦτον εἶναι προλαβόντες ὥρμησαν εὐθὺς καί διέσπασαν ἐν μέσῳ τὸν ἄνθρωπον.
At sight of him, one of the multitude told his name to another who asked him what it was, and he to another, and at once word ran through the whole throng that this man was one of the murderers of Caesar. For there was among the conspirators a man who bore this same name of Cinna, and assuming that this man was he, the crowd rushed upon him and tore him in pieces among them.
τοῦτο μάλιστα δείσαντες οἱ περὶ Βροῦτον καί Κάσσιον οὐ πολλῶν ἡμερῶν διαγενομένων ἀπεχώρησαν ἐκ τῆς πόλεως, ἃ δὲ καί πράξαντες καί παθόντες ἐτελεύτησαν, ἐν τοῖς περὶ Βροῦτον γέγραπται.
This more than anything else made Brutus and Cassius afraid, and not many days afterwards they withdrew from the city. What they did and suffered before they died, has been told in the Life of Brutus.
θνῄσκει δὲ Καῖσαρ τὰ μὲν πάντα γεγονὼς ἔτη πεντήκοντα καὶ ἕξ, Πομπηΐῳ δʼ ἐπιβιώσας οὐ πολὺ πλέον ἐτῶν τεσσάρων, ἣν δὲ τῷ βίῳ παντὶ ἀρχὴν καὶ δυναστείαν διὰ κινδύνων τοσούτων διώκων μόλις κατειργάσατο, ταύτης οὐδὲν ὅτι μὴ τοὔνομα μόνον καὶ τὴν ἐπίφθονον καρπωσάμενος δόξαν παρὰ τῶν πολιτῶν.
At the time of his death Caesar was fully fifty-six years old, but he had survived Pompey not much more than four years, while of the power and dominion which he had sought all his life at so great risks, and barely achieved at last, of this he had reaped no fruit but the name of it only, and a glory which had awakened envy on the part of his fellow citizens.
ὁ μέντοι μέγας αὐτοῦ δαίμων, ᾧ παρὰ τὸν βίον ἐχρήσατο, καὶ τελευτήσαντος ἐπηκολούθησε τιμωρὸς τοῦ φόνου, διά τε γῆς πάσης καὶ θαλάττης ἐλαύνων καὶ ἀνιχνεύων ἄχρι τοῦ μηδένα λιπεῖν τῶν ἀπεκτονότων, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς καθʼ ὁτιοῦν ἢ χειρὶ τοῦ ἔργου θιγόντας ἢ γνώμης μετασχόντας ἐπεξελθεῖν.
However, the great guardian-genius of the man, whose help he had enjoyed through life, followed upon him even after death as an avenger of his murder, driving and tracking down his slayers over every land and sea until not one of them was left, but even those who in any way soever either put hand to the deed or took part in the plot were punished.
θαυμασιώτατον δὲ τῶν μὲν ἀνθρωπίνων τὸ περὶ Κάσσιον ἡττηθεὶς γὰρ ἐν Φιλίπποις ἐκείνῳ τῷ ξιφιδίῳ διέφθειρεν ἑαυτὸν ᾧ κατὰ Καίσαρος ἐχρήσατο τῶν δὲ θείων ὅ τε μέγας κομήτης ἐφάνη γὰρ ἐπὶ νύκτας ἑπτὰ μετὰ τὴν Καίσαρος σφαγὴν διαπρεπής, εἶτα ἠφανίσθη καὶ τὸ περὶ τὸν ἥλιον ἀμαύρωμα τῆς αὐγῆς.
Among events of man’s ordering, the most amazing was that which befell Cassius; for after his defeat at Philippi he slew himself with that very dagger which he had used against Caesar; and among events of divine ordering, there was the great comet, which showed itself in great splendour for seven nights after Caesar’s murder, and then disappeared; also, the obscuration of the sun’s rays.
ὅλον γὰρ ἐκεῖνον τὸν ἐνιαυτὸν ὠχρὸς μὲν ὁ κύκλος καὶ μαρμαρυγὰς οὐκ ἔχων ἀνέτελλεν, ἀδρανὲς δὲ καὶ λεπτὸν ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ κατῄει τὸ θερμόν, ὥστε τὸν μὲν ἀέρα δνοφερὸν καὶ βαρὺν ἀσθενείᾳ τῆς διακρινούσης αὐτὸν ἀλέας ἐπιφέρεσθαι, τοὺς δὲ καρποὺς ἡμιπέπτους καὶ ἀτελεῖς ἀπανθῆσαι καὶ παρακμάσαι διά τὴν ψυχρότητα τοῦ περιέχοντος.
For during all that year its orb rose pale and without radiance, while the heat that came down from it was slight and ineffectual, so that the air in its circulation was dark and heavy owing to the feebleness of the warmth that penetrated it, and the fruits, imperfect and half ripe, withered away and shrivelled up on account of the coldness of the atmosphere.
μάλιστα δὲ τὸ Βρούτῳ γενόμενον φάσμα τὴν Καίσαρος ἐδήλωσε σφαγὴν οὐ γενομένην θεοῖς ἀρεστήν ἦν δὲ τοιόνδε. μέλλων τὸν στρατὸν ἐξ · Ἀβύδου διαβιβάζειν εἰς τὴν ἑτέραν ἤπειρον ἀνεπαύετο νυκτὸς, ὥσπερ εἰώθει, κατὰ σκηνήν, οὐ καθεύδων, ἀλλὰ φροντίζων περὶ τοῦ μέλλοντος λέγεται γὰρ οὗτος ἁνὴρ ἥκιστα δὴ τῶν στρατηγῶν ὑπνώδης γενέσθαι καὶ πλεῖστον ἑαυτῷ χρόνον ἐγρηγορότι χρῆσθαι πεφυκώς·
But more than anything else the phantom that appeared to Brutus showed that the murder of Caesar was not pleasing to the gods; and it was on this wise. As he was about to take his army across from Abydos to the other continent, he was lying down at night, as his custom was, in his tent, not sleeping, but thinking of the future; for it is said that of all generals Brutus was least given to sleep, and that he naturally remained awake a longer time than anybody else.
ψόφου δέ τινος αἰσθέσθαι περὶ τὴν θύραν ἔδοξε, καὶ πρός τὸ τοῦ λύχνου φῶς ἤδη καταφερομένου σκεψάμενος ὄψιν εἶδε φοβερὰν ἀνδρὸς ἐκφύλου τὸ μέγεθος καὶ χαλεποῦ τὸ εἶδος, ἐκπλαγεὶς δὲ τὸ πρῶτον, ὡς ἑώρα μήτε πράττοντά τι μήτε φθεγγόμενον, ἀλλὰ ἑστῶτα σιγῇ παρὰ τὴν κλίνην, ἠρώτα ὅστίς ἐστιν.
And now he thought he heard a noise at the door, and looking towards the light of the lamp, which was slowly going out, he saw a fearful vision of a man of unnatural size and harsh aspect. At first he was terrified, but when he saw that the visitor neither did nor said anything, but stood in silence by his couch, he asked him who he was.
ἀποκρίνεται δʼ αὐτῷ τὸ φάσμα ὁ σὸς, ὦ Βροῦτε, δαίμων κακός ὄψει δέ με περὶ Φιλίππους. τότε μὲν οὖν ὁ Βροῦτος εὐθαρσῶς, ὂψομαι, εἶπε καὶ τὸ δαιμόνιον εὐθὺς ἐκποδὼν ἀπῄει. τῷ δʼ ἱκνουμένῳ χρόνῳ περὶ τοὺς Φιλίππους ἀντιταχθεὶς Ἀντωνίῳ καὶ Καίσαρι τῇ μὲν πρώτῃ μάχῃ κρατήσας τὸ καθʼ ἑαυτὸν ἐτρέψατο καὶ διεξήλασε πορθῶν τὸ Καίσαρος στρατόπεδον,
Then the phantom answered him: I am thy evil genius, Brutus, and thou shalt see me at Philippi. At the time, then, Brutus said courageously: I shall see thee; and the heavenly visitor at once went away. Subsequently, however, when arrayed against Antony and Caesar at Philippi, in the first battle he conquered the enemy in his front, routed and scattered them, and sacked the camp of Caesar;
τὴν δὲ δευτέραν αὐτῷ μάχεσθαι μέλλοντι φοιτᾷ τὸ αὐτὸ φάσμα τῆς νυκτὸς αὖθις, οὐχ ὥστε τι προσειπεῖν, ἀλλὰ συνεὶς ὁ Βροῦτος τὸ πεπρωμένον ἔρριψε φέρων ἑαυτὸν εἰς τὸν κίνδυνον. οὐ μὴν ἔπεσεν ἀγωνιζόμενος, ἀλλὰ τῆς τροπῆς γενομένης ἀναφυγὼν πρός τι κρημνῶδες καὶ τῷ ξίφει γυμνῷ προσβαλὼν τὸ στέρνον, ἅμα καὶ φίλου τινὸς, ὥς φασι, συνεπιρρώσαντος τὴν πληγήν, ἀπέθανεν.
but as he was about to fight the second battle, the same phantom visited him again at night, and though it said nothing to him, Brutus understood his fate, and plunged headlong into danger. He did not fall in battle, however, but after the rout retired to a crest of ground, put his naked sword to his breast (while a certain friend, as they say, helped to drive the blow home), and so died.
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