Page:Plutarch's Lives (Clough, v.5, 1865).djvu/176

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N 7 168 ANTONY. ing the people to be infinitely affected with what he had said, he began to mingle with his praises language of com- miseration, and horror at what had happened, and, as he was ending his speech, he took the under-clothes of the dead, and held them up, shewing them stains of blood and the holes of the many stabs, calling those that had done this act villains and bloody murderers. All which excited the people to such indignation, that they would not defer the funeral, but, making a pile of tables and forms in the very market-place, set fire to it ; and every one, taking a brand, ran to the conspirators' houses, to attack them. Upon this, Brutus and his whole party left the city, and Caesar's friends joined themselves to Antony. Calpurnia, Caesar's wife, lodged with him the best part of the prop- erty, to the value of four thousand talents ; he got also into his hands all Ctesar's papers, wherein were contained journals of all he had done, and draughts of what he designed to do, which Antony made good use of; for by this means he appointed what magistrates he pleased, brought whom he would into the senate, recalled some from exile, freed others out of prison, and all this as ordered so by Coesar. The Romans, in mockery, gave those who were thus benefited the name of Charonites,* since, if j^ut to prove their patents, they must have re- course to the papers of the dead. In short, Antony's be- havior in Rome was very absolute, he himself being consul, and his two brothers in great place ; Cains, the one, being praetor, and Lucius, the other, tribune of the people.

  • Suetonius says Orcini ; which Greek tranRlation of the Latin

was the common name given, even Orcini, freedmen of Orcus, or the in the law-books, to skives manu- world below ; or it was perhaps a niitted by their owner, after his more familiar word for the same death, by his will. Charonitce, freed- thing, men of Charon, may have been a