Two letters by Brutus and Cassius to Mark Antony: different people, different times, different styles

Abstract

Abstract Between end of May and beginning of August 44 M. Junius Brutus, praetor urbanus, and C. Cassius Longinus, praetor peregrinus, sent two letters to M. Antony who was consul. These letters were different in content and style but also the two senders were different. If we take into account the facts of this time we see that the situation in Rome changed and M. Antony gave up his previous position (assumed 17 March 44), which was oriented towards the concordia, for a new position directed towards the vengeance for Caesar’s murder. This depended upon the intervention of Octavian who took the hereditary name of C. Iulius Caesar and gave himself as aim Caesar’s vengeance, an aim M. Antony had to assume in order to remain head of the Caesarian party. Brutus’ and Cassius’ attitudes were different: Brutus tried to save the concordia, Cassius to defend with weapons the Liberators’ position; Brutus was formed in Stoic culture, Cassius was rather inspired by old Roman tradition. Such a different position appears in the first part of this paper. Therefore the first letter, where Brutus and Cassius invite M. Antony to save the concordia, seems to be inspired by Brutus and the second letter, a kind of ultimatum to M. Antony, rather inspired by Cassius. More interesting is that also the style of the first letter is closer to Brutus’ than Cassius’ style, while the second letter is more connected with Cassius’ language as it appears from Brutus’ and Cassius’ letters we read in Cicero’s correspondence. It seems therefore that the first letter, where the Liberators tried to save the Concordia, was written mostly by Brutus, the second one, the ultimatum letter, by Cassius. The style confirms this hypothesis.