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“In the case of Cassius, then, they say this [personal resentment] was the chief reason for his plotting against Caesar; but it is not so. For from the outset there was in the nature of Cassius great hostility and bitterness towards the whole race of tyrants, as he showed when he was still a boy and went to the same school with Faustus the son of Sulla. For when Faustus blustered among the boys and bragged about his father’s absolute power, Cassius sprang up and gave him a thrashing. The guardians and relatives of Faustus wished to carry the matter into court, but Pompey forbade it, and after bringing the two boys together, questioned them both about the matter. Then, as the story goes, Cassius said: ‘Come now, Faustus, have the courage to utter in this man’s presence that speech which angered me, and I will smash your face again.’ . . .” Plutarch, Life of Brutus § 9