danger presented itself. Cassius, seeing them afar off, suspected they
were enemies and ordered Pindarus, a freedman, to kill him. The centurion
on learning that his leader's death was due to his dilatoriness slew
himself upon his body.

[-47-] Brutus immediately sent the body of Cassius secretly to Thasos. He
shrank from burying it upon the ground, for fear the army would be filled
with grief and dejection at sight of the preparations. The remainder
of his friend's soldiers he took under his charge, consoled them in a
speech, won their devotion by a gift of money to make up for what they
had lost, and then transferred his position to their enclosure, which
was more suitable. From there he started out to harass his opponents in
various ways, especially by assaulting their camp at night. He had no
intention of joining issue with them again in a set battle, but had great
hopes of overcoming them without danger by the lapse of time. Hence he
tried regularly to startle them in various ways and disturb them by
night, and once by diverting the course of the river he washed away
considerable of their wall. Caesar and Antony were getting short of both
food and money, and consequently gave their soldiers nothing to replace
what had been seized and carried off. Furthermore, the force that was
sailing to them in transports from Brundusium had been destroyed by
Staius. Yet they could not safely transfer their position to any other
quarter nor return to Italy, and so, even as late as this, they set all
their hopes upon their weapons,--hopes not merely of victory but even
of preservation. They were eager to meet the danger before the naval
disaster became noised abroad among their opponents and their own men.
[-48-] As Brutus evinced an unwillingness to meet them in open fight,
they somehow cast pamphlets over his palisade, challenging his soldiers
either to embrace their cause (promises being attached) or to come into
conflict if they had the least particle of strength. During this delay