d been his teacher in rhetoric, held for him.
His wife Porcia, the daughter of Cato, resolved not to survive her
husband; and, being closely watched by her relations, she put an end to
her life by thrusting burning charcoal into her mouth. Brutus was
doubtless a sincere Republican, but he was a man of weak judgment,
deficient in knowledge of mankind, and more fitted for a life of study
than the command of armies and the government of men.

[Illustration: Coin of Antony and Cleopatra.]

[Footnote 71: _Triumviri Reipulicae constituendae._]

[Illustration: M. Agrippa.]

CHAPTER XXXVII.

FROM THE BATTLE OF PHILIPPI TO THE BATTLE OF ACTIUM. B.C. 41-30.

The battle of Philippi scaled the fate of the Republic. Antony remained
in the East to collect money for the soldiers. Octavian, who was in ill
health, returned to Italy to give the veterans the lands which had been
promised them. Antony traversed Asia Minor, plundering the unfortunate
inhabitants, who had already suffered so severely from the exactions of
Brutus and Cassias. In the voluptuous cities of Asia he surrendered
himself to every kind of sensual enjoyment. He entered Ephesus in the
character of Bacchus, accompanied by a wild procession of women dressed
like Bacchantes, and men and youths disguised as Satyrs and Pans. At
Tarsus, in Cilicia, whither he had gone to prepare for the war against
the Parthians, he was visited by Cleopatra. He had summoned her to his
presence to answer for her conduct in supplying Cassius with money and
provisions. She was now in her 28th year, and in the full maturity of
her charms. In her 15th year her beauty had made an impression on the
heart of Antony, when he was at Alexandria with Gabinius, and she now
trusted to make him her willing slave. She sailed up the Cydnus to
Tarsus in a magnificent vessel with purple sails, propelled by silver
oars to the sound of luxurious music. She herself reclined under an
awning spangled with gold, attired as Venus and fanned by Cupids. The
most beautiful of her female slaves held the rudder and the ropes. The
perfumes burnt upon the vessel filled the banks of the river with their
fragrance. The inhabitants cried that Venus had come to revel with
Bacchus. Antony accepted her invitation to sup on board her galley, and
was completely subjugated. Her wit and vivacity surpassed even her
beauty. He followed her to Alexandria, where he forgot every thing in
luxurious dalliance and the charms of