| LIVES OF THE NOBLE | | |
| | | |
| MARCUS | armye neare to Rome, he made him selfe to be chosen | |
| BRUTUS | Consul, whether the Senate would or not, when he was yet | |
| but a strippling or springal of twenty yeare old, as him selfe | |
| reporteth in his owne Commentaries. So when he was | |
| Consul, he presently appoynted Iudges to accuse Brutus and | |
| his companions, for killing of the noblest person in Rome, | |
| and chiefest Magistrate, without law or judgement: and | |
| made L. Cornificius accuse Brutus, and M. Agrippa, Cassius. | |
| Brutus | So, the parties accused were condemned, bicause the Iudges | |
| accused, and | were compelled to give such sentence. The voyce went, | |
| condemned, | that when the Herauld (according to the custom after sen- | |
| by Octavius | tence given) went up to the chair or pulpit for orations, and | |
| Caesars | proclaymed Brutus with a lowd voyce, summoning him to | |
| meanes, for | appeare in person before the Iudges: the people that stoode | |
| the death of | by sighed openly, and the noble men that were present | |
| Iulius Caesar. | honge downe their heads, and durst not speake a word. | |
| Among them, the teares fell from Publius Silicius eyes: | |
| who shortly after, was one of the proscripts or outlawes | |
| The Trium- | appoynted to be slayne. After that, these three Octavius | |
| virate. | Caesar, Antonius, and Lepidus, made an agreement betwene | |
| them selves, and by those articles devided the provinces | |
| belonging to the Empire of Rome amonge them selves, | |
| and did set up billes of proscription and outlary, con- | |
| demning two hundred of the noblest men of Rome to suffer | |
| death, and among that number, Cicero was one. Newes | |
| being brought thereof into Macedon, Brutus being then | |
| inforced to it, wrote unto Hortensius, that he should put | |
| C. Antonius | Caius Antonius to death, to be revenged of the death of | |
| murdered. | Cicero, and of the other Brutus, of the which the one was | |
| his friend, and the other his kinseman. For this cause | |
| therefore, Antonius afterwards taking Hortensius at the | |
| battell of Philippes, he made him to be slayne upon his | |
| brothers tombe. But then Brutus sayd, that he was more | |
| ashamed of the cause for the which Cicero was slayne, then | |
| he was otherwise sory for his death: and that he could not | |
| but greatly reprove his friendes he had at Rome, who were | |
| slaves more through their owne fault, then through their | |
| valliantnes or manhood which usurped the tyranny: con- | |
| sidering that they were so cowardly and faynt hearted, as to | |
| 208 | |