(1) Intereā Brūtus et Cassius interfectōrēs Caesaris ingēns bellum mōvērunt. Erant enim per Macedoniam et Orientem multī exercitūs, quōs occupāverant. Profectī sunt igitur contrā eōs Caesar Octāviānus Augustus et M. Antōnius; remānserat enim ad dēfendendam Ītaliam Lepidus.
(2) Apud Philippōs Macedoniae urbem contrā eōs pūgnāvērunt. Prīmō proeliō victī sunt Antōnius et Caesar, periit tamen dux nōbilitātis Cassius, secundō Brūtum et īnfīnītam nōbilitātem, quae cum illīs bellum gesserat, victam interfēcērunt.
(3) Ac sīc inter eōs dīvīsa est rēs pūblica, ut Augustus Hispāniās, Galliās et Ītaliam tenēret, Antōnius Asiam, Pontum, Orientem.
(4) Sed in Ītaliā L. Antōnius cōnsul bellum cīvīle commōvit, frāter eius, quī cum Caesare contrā Brūtum et Cassium dīmicāverat. Is apud Perusiam Tusciae cīvitātem victus et captus est, neque occīsus.
notes
The Battle of Philippi, 42 BCE
Livy, Epitome 125.e–126.e. Appian, Civil Wars 5.4.32. Velleius 2.74. Dio, Roman History 48.14.1–5.
(1) per Macedoniam: see Macedonia. The defining battle will occur in Philippi.
ad dēfendendam Ītaliam: "to defend Italy," gerundive denoting purpose (AG 500.4)
(2) Apud Philippōs: the battle of Philippi was fought in November 42 BCE (Hazzard).
contrā eōs pūgnāvērunt: Octavian and Antony and the subjects, eōs refers to the Brutus and Cassius and their party.
secundō: supply proeliō, a parallel clause with prīmō proeliō
Cassius: Cassius was routed and committed suicide (Hazzard)
Brūtum: after his forces were routed, Brutus was compelled to kill himself to prevent capture (Hazzard).
īnfīnītam nōbilitātem: "very many of the nobility" (Hazzard). This hyperbole is also seen in Velleius Paterculus’ work, as he recounts that
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No other war cost the blood of so many illustrious men. In that battle the son of Cato fell; the same fortune carried off Lucullus and Hortensius, the sons of eminent citizens. Varro, when about to die, in mockery of Antony, with the utmost freedom of speech prophesied for Antony the death he deserved, a prophecy which came true. Drusus Livius, the father of Julia Augusta, and Quintilius Varus, without making any appeal for mercy, ended their lives. Livius died by his own hand in his tent; Varus first covered himself with the insignia of his offices and then forced his freedman to commit the deed (2.71.1–2; Trans. Frederick W Shipley).
victam: perfect passive participle of vinco, agreeing with nōbilitātem
(3) sīc: "in such a way;" result clause (AG 537)
dīvīsa est rēs pūblica: Lepidus took the province of Africa, Augustus the West, and Mark Antony the East (Hazzard).
(4) L. Antōnius: L. Antonius, consul in 42, was besieged in Perusia in late 41 BCE by Q. Salvidienus and M. Vipsanius Agrippa, Octavian’s generals. Two of Antony's generals in Gaul, P. Ventidius and C. Asinius Pollio, marched their armies close to Perusia but remained inactive, then withdrew, leaving L. Antonius to be starved into submission in the winter of 41–40 BCE. He was captured but treated honorably by Octavian (Bird).
bellum cīvīle: After the capture of Perusia, Antony threatened war, but he made a truce with Augustus, whose sister Octavia he married (Hazzard).
frāter ēius: refers to M. Antony
apud Perusiam: "at Perusia." Eutropius is referencing the Perusine War. The poet Sextus Propertius alludes to the brutality of the war in this elegy, written some years later:
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You seek to learn of what kind and from where is my family for the sake of our enduring friendship, Tullus. You ask me what kind of home I have. If you are familiar with the Perusine graves of the heartland and the deaths during Italy’s harsh days when a Roman Eris attacked her own citizens (To this effect, you are especially a cause of grief to me, Etruscan dust. You have endured the limbs of my relative being flung forth, and buried the bones of the poor soul with no soil at all), nearest Umbria, touching the fields hidden under her, abundant in lush earth, brought me into this world. (Elegiae 1.22, trans. Tigani).
vocabulary
Core Vocabulary | Numbers | Dates
|
intereā [inter + is], adv. |
in the meantime, meanwhile |
|
Brūtus, ī, m. |
a family name at Rome. (M. Iūnius) Brūtus, one of the murderers of Caesar |
|
Cassius, ī, m. |
the name of a Roman gens |
|
interfector, ōris [interflciō], m. |
a slayer, murderer |
|
Caesar, aris, m. |
a family name in the Julian gens. (1) C. Iūlius Caesar, the famous dictator; (2) Sex. Iūlius Caesar, uncle of the dictator. Consul 91 B.C.; (3) C. Octāviānus, the emperor Augustus |
|
Macedonia, ae, f. |
an extensive country north of Greece, between Thessaly and Thrace |
|
Oriēns, entis [orior], m. (sc. sōl) |
the rising sun, the East, the Orient |
|
Octāviānus, ī, m. |
C. Iūlius Caesar Octāviānus, Roman emperor, 27 B.C.—14 A.D. |
|
Augustus, ī, m. |
a title of honor given to Octavianus in 27 BC and after him to all the Roman emperors |
|
M. |
M., abbreviation of the praenomen Marcus; M'., abbreviation of the praenomen Manius |
|
Antōnius, ī, m. |
the name of a Roman gens, C. Antōnius, consul 63 B.C., L. Antōnius, consul 41 B.C., M. Antōnius, the friend of Caesar and member of the Second Triumvirate, consul 44 B.C. |
|
remaneō, ēre, mānsī |
to remain behind |
|
Ītalia, ae, f. |
Italy |
|
Lepidus, ī, m. |
M. Aemilius Lepidus, a member of the Second Triumvirate, consul 46 B.C. |
|
Philippī, ōrum, pl. m. |
a city in Macedonia where Brutus and Cassius were defeated by Octavian in 44 B.C. 2 |
|
nōbilitās, ātis [nōbilis], f. |
renown, nobility; the nobles |
|
īnfīnītus, a, um [in + fīniō], adj. |
unbounded, vast, enormous; numberless; as subst., īnfīnītum, ī, n., a large amount, a large number |
|
Hispānia, ae, f. |
Spain (including Portugal). It was divided into two provinces, Hispania Citerior and Ulterior; hence the pl. Hispaniae. 3 |
|
Gallia, ae, f. |
the country of the Gauls; modern France and the territories on the west bank of the Rhine. The northern part of Italy was settled by Gauls, and was called Gallia Cisalpina; hence the pl. Galliae. |
|
Asia, ae, f. |
Asia; the Roman province of Asia Minor |
|
cīvīlis, e [cīvis], adj. |
pertaining to a citizen; civil; polite, moderate 4 |
|
commoveō, ēre, mōvī, mōtus |
to arouse, disturb, move, influence |
|
dīmicō, āre, āvī, ātus |
to fight, do battle |
|
Perusia, ae, f. |
an ancient town in Etruria in Italy |
|
Tuscia, ae, f. |
Etruria, a division of central Italy |