Brutus

There any one who knew what was about to happen would have been above all things astonished at the indifference and composure of the men on the brink of this terrible crisis. Many of them were praetors and therefore obliged to perform the duties of their office, wherein they not only listened calmly to those who had petitions to offer or quarrels to compose, as if they had ample time, but also took pains to give their verdicts in every case with accuracy and judgment.

And when a certain man who was unwilling to submit to the verdict of Brutus appealed to Caesar with loud cries and attestations, Brutus turned his gaze upon the bystanders and said: Caesar does not prevent me from acting according to the laws, nor will he prevent me.

And yet many things occurred to surprise and disturb them. First and foremost, though the day was advancing, Caesar delayed his coming, being detained at home by his wife because his omens were unpropitious,[*](Cf. Caesar, lxiii. 5. ) and prevented from going forth by the soothsayers.

In the second place, some one came up to Casca, one of the conspirators, took him by the hand, and said: You hid the secret from us, Casca, but Brutus has told me everything.

And when Casca was dumb with amazement, the man burst out laughing and said: How did you get so rich on a sudden, my good fellow, as to stand for the aedilesilip? So near did Casca come, in the mistake caused by the man’s ambiguity, to disclosing the secret.

Moreover, Brutus and Cassius were greeted more warmly than, usual by Popilius Laenas, a senator, who then whispered quietly to them: I join you in praying for the accomplishment of what you have in mind, and exhort you not to delay, for the matter is on men’s tongues. Having said this, he went away, leaving them full of suspicion that their undertaking had become known.

At this juncture, too, a messenger from his house came running to Brutus with the tidings that his wife was dead.

For Porcia, being distressed about what was impending and unable to bear the weight of her anxiety, could with difficulty keep herself at home, and at every noise or cry, like women in the Bacchic frenzy, she would rush forth and ask every messenger who came in from the forum how Brutus was faring, and kept sending out others continually.