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 some of the Celtic force deserted from their side to Brutus, and Amyntas, the general of Deiotarus, and Rhascuporis deserted to them.  The latter, as some say, immediately returned home.  Brutus was afraid, when this happened, that there might be further similar rebellion and decided to join issue with them.  And since there were many captives in his camp, and he neither had any way to guard them during the progress of the battle, and could not trust them to refrain from doing mischief, he despatched the majority of them, contrary to his own inclination, being a slave in this matter to necessity; but he was the more ready to do it because of the fact that his opponents had killed such of his soldiers as had been taken alive.  After doing this he armed his men for battle.  When the opposing ranks were arrayed, two eagles that flew above the heads of the two armies battled together and indicated to the combatants the outcome of the war.  The eagle on the side of Brutus was beaten and fled:  and similarly his heavy-armed force, after a contest for the most part even, was defeated, and then when many had fallen his cavalry, though it fought nobly, gave way.  Thereupon the victors pursued them, as they fled, this way and that, but neither killed nor captured any one; and then they kept watch of the separate contingents during the night and did not allow them to unite again.

[-49-] Brutus, who had reached in flight a steep and lofty spot, undertook to break through in some way to the camp.  In this he was unsuccessful, and on learning that some of his soldiers had made terms with the victors he had no further hope, but despairing of safety and disdaining capture he himself also took refuge in death.  He uttered aloud this sentence of Heracles: 

  “Unhappy Virtue, thou wert but a name, while I,
  Deeming thy godhead real, followed thee on,
  Who wert but Fortune’s slave.” [38]