O shame! The royal palace of the Nile
And Parthian soldier’s bow have more than you
Upheld the Roman laws. Go now, despise
The merit Ptolemy by arms has won!
Degenerate soldiers! Who will think that e’er
Your hands were red with any battle’s blood?
He will believe you quickly turned your backs
In flight before him; he will think that you
Fled first from dire Philippi’s Thracian field.
So go in safety! You have saved your lives,