On the plain of Philippi, Octavius and Antony, along with their forces, await Brutus, Cassius, and their armies. A messenger arrives and warns Octavius and Antony that the enemy is approaching. Antony orders Octavius to take the left side of the field, but Octavius insists upon taking the right and Antony taking the left.
Brutus, Cassius, and their followers enter, and the opposing generals meet. The two sides immediately hurl insults at one another: Antony accuses Brutus of hypocrisy in the assassination and he derides the conspirators for the cowardly way that they killed Caesar. Cassius accuses Antony of using deceit in his meeting with the conspirators following the assassination and he reminds Brutus that they would not have to endure Antony's offensive language now had he died alongside Caesar. Octavius suggests that they cease talking and begin fighting and boasts that he will not sheath his sword until he has either revenged Caesar or has been killed by traitors. Brutus denies being a traitor. Cassius calls Octavius a "peevish schoolboy" and Antony a "masker and a reveller." Antony responds that Cassius is "old Cassius still," and Octavius challenges Brutus and Cassius to fight now or whenever they muster the courage. Octavius, Antony, and their armies exit.
Cassius has serious misgivings about the battle, and both he and Brutus worry that they will never see each other again. They part poignantly with Cassius saying, "For ever, and for ever, Brutus! / If we do meet again, we'll smile indeed; / If not, @'tis true this parting was well made."
