| GRECIANS AND ROMANS | |
| | |
| laye, to cutte of Cassius way to come to the sea: and | MARCUS |
| Caesar, at the least his armye, styrred not. As for Octavius | BRUTUS |
| Caesar him selfe, he was not in his campe, bicause he was | |
| sicke. And for his people, they litle thought the ene- | |
| mies would have given them battell, but onely have made | |
| some light skirmishes to hinder them that wrought in the | |
| trenche, and with their darts and slings to have kept them | |
| from finishing of their worke: but they taking no heede | |
| to them that came full upon them to give them battell, | |
| marvelled much at the great noyse they heard, that came | |
| from the place where they were casting their trenche. In | |
| the meane tyme Brutus that led the right winge, sent | |
| litle billes to the Colonells and Captaines of private bandes, | |
| in the which he wrote the worde of the battell: and he | |
| him selfe riding a horse backe by all the trowpes, did | |
| speake to them, and incoraged them to sticke to it like | |
| men. So by this meanes very fewe of them understoode | |
| what was the worde of the battell, and besides, the moste | |
| parte of them never taryed to have it tolde them, but | |
| ranne with greate furie to assayle the enemies: whereby | |
| through this disorder, the legions were marvelously scat- | |
| tered and dispersed one from the other. For first of all, | |
| Messalaes legion, and then the next unto them, went be- | |
| yond the left winge of the enemies, and did nothing, but | |
| glawnsing by them, overthrewe some as they went, and so | |
| going on further, fell right upon Caesars campe, out of | |
| the which (as him selfe writeth in his Commentaries) he | |
| had bene conveyed away a litle before, thorough the coun- | |
| sell and advise of one of his friendes called Marcus Artorius: | |
| who dreaming in the night, had a vision appeared unto | |
| him, that commaunded Octavius Caesar should be caried | |
| out of his campe. Insomuch as it was thought he was | |
| slayne, bicause his lytter (which had nothing in it) was | |
| thrust through and through with pykes and darts. There | |
| was great slaughter in this campe. For amongest others, | |
| there were slayne two thowsand Lacedaemonians, who were | |
| arrived but even a litle before, comming to ayde Caesar. | |
| The other also that had not glaunsed by, but had given | |
| a charge full upon Caesars battell: they easily made them | |
| 223 | |