Among human events the strangest was
that which befell Cassius, for after his defeat at Philippi he killed
himself with the same dagger that he had employed against Caesar; and
among signs from heaven, there was the great comet, which appeared
conspicuous for seven nights after Caesar's assassination and then
disappeared, and the obscuration of the splendour of the sun. For
during all that year the circle of the sun rose pale and without rays,
and the warmth that came down from it was weak and feeble, so that the
air as it moved was dark and heavy owing to the feebleness of the
warmth which penetrated it, and the fruits withered and fell off when
they were half ripened and imperfect on account of the coldness of the
atmosphere. But chief of all, the phantom that appeared to Brutus
showed that Caesar's murder was not pleasing to the gods; and it was
after this manner. When Brutus was going to take his army over from
Abydus[620] to the other continent, he was lying down by night, as his
wont was, in his tent, not asleep, but thinking about the future; for
it is said that Brutus of all generals was least given to sleep, and
had naturally the power of keeping awake longer than any other person.
Thinking that he heard a noise near the door, he looked towards the
light of the lamp which was already sinking down, and saw a frightful
vision of a man of unusual size and savage countenance.
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