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they passed by and encamped there. And being superior in number to their opponents, they seized both Mount Symbolon and brought in their provisions from the sea, and running down from the plain, they took them. But Norbanus and Saxas did not dare to engage them, and they sent for Caesar and Antony. They left some part of the army to guard Italy, and with the greater part they crossed the Ionian Sea. And Caesar, having fallen ill, remained in Dyrrachium, but Antony drove on to Philippi, and having ambushed some of the enemy who were foraging for grain, he was repulsed. But Caesar, fearing in either case, whether Antony engaging alone should suffer some reverse, or even if he should win—for he considered that in the one case Brutus and Cassius, and in the other Antony, would in any event become strong against him—hurried on even while still sick; and Antony's men took courage. And while the opponents were encamped opposite each other, sorties were made by both sides, but there was no battle in formation, although both Caesar and Antony were eager to engage. But Cassius and Brutus kept putting it off, not shrinking from the battle, but hoping to prevail somehow without dangers and the loss of any men. But since the troops were burdened by the delay and scornful of their opponents, because Caesar and Antony had performed the rite of purification which takes place before the contests inside the rampart as if they were afraid, the men of Brutus rushed into battle and declared that, if it were postponed any longer, they would abandon the camp and disperse; so indeed they joined battle, even unwillingly. This contest was clearly the greatest for the Romans. And one might infer this from the signs that occurred both in Rome and in Macedonia. For in the city the sun at one time was diminished, at another time appeared large, and once it even shone out at night, and torches seemed to dart hither and thither, and echoes of trumpets and clashes of arms and shouts of camps were heard at night from the estates of Caesar and Antony bordering each other by the Tiber, and a small child was born having ten-fingered hands, and a mule gave birth to a monster; for its front parts resembled a horse, but the rest a mule. So in Rome these and other things happened, but in Macedonia around the camp of Cassius many bees surrounded it, and at the purification the lictor brought him his garland upside down, and in some procession a boy carrying a golden Victory slipped and fell, and many vultures and other flesh-eating birds frequented their camps, shrieking something frightful and terrible. The physician of the young Caesar dreamt that Athena told him in his sleep to lead Caesar out of his tent and place him in the battle line, although he was still grievously ill; which also saved him, as will be told. So they did not set the day for the battle, but as if by some agreement, they armed themselves at dawn and went forth, and drew up their lines in order and quiet. Then closing with each other they used much pushing, and much sword-fighting and much eagerness; and neither side used withdrawals or pursuits, but right where they were they wounded, were wounded, killed, and were killed. And Brutus, fighting against Caesar's men, was winning, but Cassius, arrayed against Antony's men, was being defeated, and the camps on both sides were captured. However, neither did the defeated know of the victory of the others, nor the victors of the defeat; for the camps were far apart and since a vast cloud of dust had arisen they were ignorant of the outcome of the battle. Meanwhile the trench of Caesar and that of Antony were sacked, and everything in it was captured, so that if Caesar had not, according to his physician's dream, withdrawn from the palisade, he would have been caught in it and been in peril. But Cassius was saved from the battle, and when his rampart was also sacked, he withdrew to a hill that had lookouts towards the plain, and suspecting that Brutus too had been defeated, he sent
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παρῆλθον κἀκεῖ ἐστρατοπεδεύσαντο. ὑπερτεροῦντες δὲ τῷ πλήθει τῶν ἐναντίων τό τε ορος τὸ Σύμβολον 2.393 κατέλαβον καὶ τὰ ἐπιτήδεια εκ τε τῆς θαλάσσης ἐπήγοντο καὶ ἐκ τοῦ πεδίου καταθέοντες ἐλάμβανον. Νωρβανὸς δὲ καὶ Σάξας συμβαλεῖν αὐτοῖς οὐκ ἐτόλμων, τὸν Καίσαρα δὲ καὶ τὸν ̓Αντώνιον μετεπέμποντο. οἱ δὲ μέρος μέν τι τοῦ στρατοῦ πρὸς φυλακὴν τῆς ̓Ιταλίας κατέλιπον, τῷ δὲ πλείονι ἐπεραιώθησαν τὸν ̓Ιόνιον. καὶ Καῖσαρ μὲν νοσήσας ἐν ∆υρραχίῳ κατέμεινεν, ̓Αντώνιος δ' ἐπὶ Φιλίππους ηλασε, καί τινας τῶν ἐναντίων ἐνεδρεύσας σιταγωγοῦντας ἐσφάλη. ὁ δὲ Καῖσαρ καθ' ἑκάτερον δείσας, ειτε τι ἐλαττωθείη κατὰ μόνας συμβαλὼν ̓Αντώνιος, ειτε καὶ κρατήσει, ἐκ μὲν γὰρ τοῦ τὸν Βροῦτόν τε καὶ τὸν Κάσσιον, ἐκ δὲ τοῦ τὸν ̓Αντώνιον πάντως ἐφ' ἑαυτὸν ἰσχύσειν ἐνόμισεν, ἠπείχθη καὶ ετι ἀρρωστῶν· καὶ οἱ περὶ τὸν ̓Αντώνιον ἀνεθάρσησαν. ̓Αντικαθημένων δ' ἀλλήλοις τῶν ἀντιπολέμων ἐκδρομαὶ μὲν παρ' ἀμφοτέρων ἐγίνοντο, μάχη δὲ οὐδεμία ἐκ παρατάξεως, καίτοι τοῦ τε Καίσαρος καὶ τοῦ ̓Αντωνίου συμβαλεῖν σπουδαζόντων. ὁ δὲ δὴ Κάσσιος καὶ ὁ Βροῦτος ἀνεβάλλοντο, οὐκ ὀκνοῦντες τὴν μάχην, ἀλλ' ει πως ανευ κινδύνων καὶ φθόρου τινῶν ἐπικρατήσειαν. ὡς δὲ τὰ στρατεύματα τῇ τε τριβῇ βαρυνόμενα καὶ τῶν ἀντικειμένων καταφρονήσαντα, οτι τὸ καθάρσιον πρὸ τῶν ἀγώνων γινόμενον ἐντὸς τοῦ ἐρύματος ὡς δεδιότες ἐποιήσαντο οἱ περὶ Καίσαρα καὶ ̓Αντώνιον, εἰς τὴν μάχην τε ωρμησαν οἱ Βρούτου καὶ διελάλουν οτι, αν ἐπὶ πλέον ὑπερτιθῇ, ἐκλιπόντες τὸ στρατόπεδον σκεδασθήσονται, ουτω δὴ καὶ ακοντες συνέμιξαν. Μέγιστος δὲ ̔Ρωμαίοις διαφανῶς ὁ ἀγὼν ουτος ἐγένετο. τοῦτο δὲ καὶ ἐκ τῶν γεγονότων σημείων εν τε τῇ ̔Ρώμῃ καὶ ἐν τῇ Μακεδονίᾳ τεκμήραιτό τις. 2.394 ἐν γὰρ τῷ αστει ὁ ηλιος τοτὲ μὲν ἠλαττοῦτο, τοτὲ δὲ μέγας ἐφαίνετο, ἐξέλαμψε δέ ποτε καὶ νυκτός, λαμπάδες τε αλλοσέ πῃ καὶ αλλοσε ᾳττειν ἐδόκουν, καὶ σαλπίγγων ἠχαὶ καὶ οπλων κτύποι καὶ βοαὶ στρατοπέδων νυκτὸς ἐκ τῶν τοῦ Καίσαρος καὶ τῶν τοῦ ̓Αντωνίου ὁμορούντων ἀλλήλοις παρὰ τῷ Τιβέριδι ἐξηκούοντο, καί τι παιδάριον δεκαδακτύλους χεῖρας εχον ἐγεννήθη, ἡμίονός τε ετεκε τέρας· τὰ μὲν γὰρ πρόσθια ιππῳ, τὰ δὲ λοιπὰ ἡμιόνῳ ἐῴκει. ἐν μὲν ουν τῇ ̔Ρώμῃ ταῦτά τε καὶ αλλα ἐγένετο, ἐν δὲ τῇ Μακεδονίᾳ περὶ τὸ στρατόπεδον τοῦ Κασσίου μέλισσαί τε πολλαὶ αὐτὸ περιέσχον, καὶ ἐν τῷ καθαρσίῳ τὸν στέφανον αὐτῷ κατεστραμμένον ὁ ῥαβδοῦχος προσήνεγκε, καὶ ἐν πομπῇ τινι παῖς Νίκην φέρων χρυσῆν ὀλισθήσας επεσε, καὶ γῦπες πολλοὶ καὶ αλλοι ορνιθες νεκροφάγοι εἰς τὰ ἐκείνων διεφοίτων στρατόπεδα εκλαζόν τε φρικῶδές τι καὶ δεινόν. τοῦ δὲ νέου Καίσαρος ἰατρὸς εδοξε τὴν ̓Αθηνᾶν ἐν υπνοις λέγειν αὐτῷ ἐκ τῆς σκηνῆς τὸν Καίσαρα ἐξαγαγεῖν καὶ καταστῆσαι εἰς τὴν παράταξιν, καίτοι ετι κακῶς ἀρρωστοῦντα· ο καὶ περιέσωσεν αὐτόν, ὡς εἰρήσεται. Τὴν μὲν ουν ἡμέραν τῆς μάχης οὐχ ὡρίσαντο, ωσπερ δὲ ἀπὸ συγκειμένου τινὸς εωθεν ἐξοπλισάμενοι προῆλθον, καὶ ἐν κόσμῳ καὶ ἡσυχῇ παρετάξαντο. ειτα συμμίξαντες πολλῷ μὲν ἐχρήσαντο ὠθισμῷ, πολλῷ δὲ ξιφισμῷ καὶ προθυμίᾳ πολλῇ· καὶ ουθ' ὑπαγωγαῖς ουτε διώξεσιν οὐδένες ἐχρήσαντο, ἀλλ' αὐτοῦ ωσπερ ειχον ἐτίτρωσκον, ἐτιτρώσκοντο, ἐφόνευον, ἐφονεύοντο. καὶ ὁ μὲν Βροῦτος τοῖς περὶ τὸν Καίσαρα ἀντιμαχόμενος ἐκράτει, Κάσσιος δὲ ἀντιτεταγμένος τοῖς περὶ τὸν ̓Αντώνιον ηττητο, καὶ τὰ στρατόπεδα ἀμφοτέρωθεν ἑάλω. οὐκ εγνων μέντοι 2.395 ουτε τὴν νίκην τῶν ἑτέρων οἱ ἡττημένοι ουτε τὴν ητταν οἱ νενικηκότες· τά τε γὰρ στρατόπεδα πολὺ ἀφεστήκασι καὶ ἀπλέτου κονιορτοῦ γενομένου ἠγνόησαν τὸ τέλος τῆς μάχης. τέως δὲ τό τε τοῦ Καίσαρος τάφρευμα καὶ τὸ τοῦ ̓Αντωνίου ἐπορθήθη, καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτῷ πάντα ἑάλω, ωστ' εἰ μὴ κατὰ τὸ οναρ τοῦ ἰατροῦ ὑπεξῆλθεν ὁ Καῖσαρ τοῦ χαρακώματος, ἐν αὐτῷ αν καταληφθεὶς κεκινδύνευκεν. ̔Ο δὲ Κάσσιος ἐκ μὲν τῆς μάχης ἐσώθη, τοῦ δὲ ἐρύματος καὶ αὐτοῦ πορθηθέντος ἐπὶ λόφον ἀνεχώρησεν εχοντα πρὸς τὸ πεδίον σκοπάς, ὑποτοπήσας δὲ καὶ τὸν Βροῦτον ἐσφάλθαι, επεμψεν