ABSTRACT
Shakespeare now omits the considerable time which elapsed before the second battle, the evil plight of both armies, the misconduct of Cassius' forces and the sea-victory which might have changed Brutus' fortunes had he heard of it in time (inf. 126). The second battle is telescoped into the first, and as soon as Brutus has ordered Cassius to be buried at Thassos he continues the fight. The young Cato is killed (V.4), Lucilius, disguised as Brutus, is captured and treated honourably by Antony as in Plutarch (inf. 129), Brutus is defeated, without any of Plutarch's details (in! ISO), and, asking first one then another of his officers to kill him, declares that the ghost of C<csar has appeared to him again 'last night, here in Philippi fields, I know my hour is come' (V.5. 1-29). Taking leave oflife he boasts nobly that in all his life 'I found no man but he was true to me', gets Strato to hold his sword, and runs upon it, thus following Plutarch's account (in! 131). Messala and Strato are taken into the service of Octavius, and the play ends with Antony and Octavius speaking magnanimously of their great enemy. Antony's epitaph takes over from Plutarch the contrast between Brutus' disinterestedness and the envy which motivated the other conspirators (V.5.68-75).
