[1] But Octavius and Antony were no better off; they were scantily provisioned, and the low site of their camp made them expect a grievous winter.
[2] For they were huddled together on the edge of marshes, and the autumn rains which fell after the battle kept filling their tents with mud and water that froze at once, so cold was the weather.
[3] Moreover, while they were in this plight, word came to them of the disaster which had befallen them at sea. For a large force which was being brought from Italy by command of Octavius was attacked by the ships of Brutus and destroyed, and the small remnant of them that escaped their enemies were driven by hunger to subsist upon the sails and tackle of their ships.
[4] On hearing of this, they were eager to have the issue decided by battle before Brutus learned what great good fortune had come to him.
[5] For it happened that the conflicts on sea and land were decided on one and the same day. But by some chance, rather than by the fault of his naval commanders, Brutus was ignorant of their success until twenty days afterwards.
[6] Otherwise he would not have proceeded to a second battle, since his army was supplied with provisions for a long time, and he was posted in an advantageous position, so that his camp did not suffer from wintry weather, and on the side towards the enemy was almost impregnable, while his secure mastery of the sea and the victory of the land forces under his own command had put him in high hopes and spirits.
[7]
But since, as it would seem, the government of Rome could no longer be a democracy, and a monarchy was necessary, Heaven, wishing to remove from the scene the only man who stood in the way of him who was able to be sole master, cut off from Brutus the knowledge of that good fortune,
But since, as it would seem, the government of Rome could no longer be a democracy, and a monarchy was necessary, Heaven, wishing to remove from the scene the only man who stood in the way of him who was able to be sole master, cut off from Brutus the knowledge of that good fortune,
[8] although it very nearly reached him in time; for only one day before the battle which he was about to fight, late in the day, a certain Clodius deserted from the enemy, and brought word that Octavius had learned of the destruction of his fleet and was therefore eager for a decisive struggle.
[9] The man found no credence for his story, nor did he even come into the presence of Brutus, but was altogether despised; it was thought that either he had heard an idle tale, or was bringing false tidings in order to win favour.
Brutus. Plutarch. Cambridge, MA. 1918.
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