any trace of fear, 'Be assured, Antony, that no enemy has taken or ever shall take Brutus alive. . . . As for me, I am come hither by a cheat that I put upon your soldiers, and am ready . . . to suffer any severities you will inflict.'
But Antony turned to the crestfallen horsemen and said, 'You have brought me better booty than you sought. For indeed I am uncertain how I should have used Brutus if you had brought him alive, but of this I am sure, it is better to have such men as Lucilius our friends than our enemies.' From that day Antony and Lucilius were friends.
Brutus meanwhile had ridden on until he reached a little stream, and here, sheltered by steep cliffs he sat down to rest. His heart was sad, for many of his friends were slain. He murmured the long list of their names, sighing heavily as he did so.
Hour after hour passed, and his people grew anxious lest the enemy should overtake them, and they urged Brutus to fly.
'Yes indeed we must fly,' answered the stricken general, 'but not with our feet, but with our hands.' Then he went aside with only his friend Strato, and flinging himself upon the point of his sword, he died.
Antony, when he found the dead body of Brutus, ordered it to be covered with a beautiful purple mantle of his own.
A soldier, too full of greed to show reverence to the dead, dared to steal the mantle. Antony did not rest until the thief was discovered and put to death.
