Where I have took them up.

"Shall Rome, etc." Thus must I piece it out :

50

Shall Rome stand under one man's awe? What, Rome?

My ancestors did from the streets of Rome

The Tarquin drive, when he was call'd a king.

66

Speak, strike, redress!" Am I entreated

To speak and strike? O Rome, I make thee promise;
If the redress will follow, thou receivest

Thy full petition at the hand of Brutus!

Re-enter LUCIUS.

Luc. Sir, March is wasted fifteen days.

[Knocking within.

60

[Exit Lucius.

Bru. 'Tis good. Go to the gate; somebody knocks.

Since Cassius first did whet me against Cæsar,

I have not slept.

Between the acting of a dreadful thing

And the first motion, all the interim is
Like a phantasma, or a hideous dream :
The Genius and the mortal instruments
Are then in council; and the state of man,
Like to a little kingdom, suffers then
The nature of an insurrection.

Re-enter LUCIUS.

Luc. Sir, 't is your brother Cassius at the door, Who doth desire to see you.

Bru.

70

Is he alone?

Do you know them?

Luc. No, sir, there are moe with him.
Bru.

Luc. No, sir; their hats are pluck'd about their ears,

And half their faces buried in their cloaks,

That by no means I may discover them

By any mark of favour."

They are the faction. O conspiracy,

Sham'st thou to show thy dang'rous brow by night,

When evils are most free? O, then by day

Where wilt thou find a cavern dark enough

[Exit Lucius.

To mask thy monstrous visage? Seek none, conspiracy;
Hide it in smiles and affability:

For if thou hath thy native semblance on,

So

59 fifteen days. So the folio, which Theobald, who has been followed hitherto, changed to "fourteen days," because "this was the dawn of the 15th (the Ides › which is true; but the error, like many others in these plays, is S.'s. See the note on "the first of March," line 40.

68 The Genius, etc.

the controlling part of man, the rational soul and the bodily powers which are its instruments.

72 moe more.

73 their hats are pluck'd, etc. S. here gives to Romans of the time of Julius Cæsar the costume of Englishmen in the reign of Elizabeth.

Not Erebus itself were dim enough

To hide thee from prevention.

Enter the conspirators, CASSIUS, CASCA, DECIUS, CINNA, METELLUS CIMBER, and TREBO

NIUS.

Cas. I think we are too bold upon your rest: Good morrow, Brutus; do we trouble you?

Bru. I have been up this hour, awake all night.
Know I these men that come along with you?

Cas. Yes, every man of them, and no man here
But honours you; and every one doth wish
You had but that opinion of yourself

Which every noble Roman bears of you.
This is Trebonius.

Bru.

He is welcome hither.

He is welcome too.

Cas. This, Decius Brutus.

Bru.

Cas. This, Casca; this, Cinna; and this, Metellus Cimber. Bru. They are all welcome.

What watchful cares do interpose themselves

Betwixt your eyes and night?

Cas. Shall I entreat a word?

90

99

[Brutus and Cassius whisper.

Dec. Here lies the east: doth not the day break here?
Casca. No.

Cin. O, pardon, sir, it doth; and yon gray

That fret the clouds are messengers of day.

lines

Casca. You shall confess that you are both deceiv'd.

Here, as I point my sword, the sun arises,

Which is a great way growing on the south,

Weighing the youthful season of the

year.

Some two months hence up higher toward the north
He first presents his fire; and the high east
Stands, as the Capitol, directly here.

Bru. Give me your hands all over, one by one.
Cas. And let us swear our resolution.

Bru. No, not an oath: if not the face of men,
The sufferance of our souls, the time's abuse, -
If these be motives weak, break off betimes,
And every man hence to his idle bed;
So let high-sighted tyranny range on,
Till each man drop by lottery. But if these,
As I am sure they do, bear fire enough
To kindle cowards and to steel with valour

The melting spirits of women, then, countrymen,
What need we any spur but our own cause,
To prick us to redress? what other bond

Than secret Romans, that have spoke the word,

ΙΙΟ

120

And will not palter? and what other oath
Than honesty to honesty engag'd,
That this shall be, or we will fall for it?
Swear priests and cowards and men cautelous,
Old feeble carrions and such suffering souls
That welcome wrongs; unto bad causes swear
Such creatures as men doubt; but do not stain
The even virtue of our enterprise,

Nor th' insuppressive mettle of our spirits,
To think that or our cause or our performance
Did need an oath; when every drop of blood
That every Roman bears, and nobly bears,
Is guilty of a several bastardy,

If he do break the smallest particle

Of any promise that hath pass'd from him.

Cas. But what of Cicero? shall we sound him?

I think he will stand very strong with us.
Casca. Let us not leave him out.
Cin.

No, by no means.

Met. O, let us have him, for his silver hairs
Will purchase us a good opinion

And buy men's voices to commend our deeds:
It shall be said, his judgement rul'd our hands;
Our youths and wildness shall no whit appear,
But all be buried in his gravity.

Bru. O, name him not let us not break with him ;
For he will never follow any thing

That other men begin.

Cas.

Then leave him out.

Casca. Indeed he is not fit.

Dec. Shall no man else be touch'd but only Cæsar? Cas. Decius, well urg'd: I think it is not meet, Mark Antony, so well belov'd of Cæsar,

Should outlive Cæsar: we shall find of him

A shrewd contriver; and, you know, his means,

If he improve them, may well stretch so far

As to annoy us all which to prevent,

Let Antony and Cæsar fall together.

Bru. Our course will seem too bloody, Caius Cassius,

To cut the head off and then hack the limbs,
Like wrath in death and envy afterwards;

For Antony is but a limb of Cæsar :

Let us be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius.

129 cautelous wily, crafty, exceedingly cautious.

131 That welcome wrongs as welcome wrongs: the converse of the use of " "that."

100 break with him 164 envy afterwards

open our secret to him, we still say, to break bad news.
hatred, etc.; so below, line 178, envious malicious, vengeful.

We all stand up against the spirit of Cæsar;
And in the spirit of men there is no blood:
O, that we then could come by Cæsar's spirit,
And not dismember Cæsar! But, alas,
Cæsar must bleed for it! And, gentle friends,
Let's kill him boldly, but not wrathfully;
Let's carve him as a dish fit for the gods,
Not hew him as a carcass fit for hounds:
And let our hearts, as subtle masters do,
Stir up their servants to an act of rage,
And after seem to chide 'em. This shall make
Our purpose necessary and not envious:
Which so appearing to the common eyes,
We shall be call'd purgers, not murderers.
And for Mark Antony, think not of him;
For he can do no more than Cæsar's arm
When Cæsar's head is off.

Cas.
Yet I fear him;
For in the ingrafted love he bears to Cæsar -
Bru. Alas, good Cassius, do not think of him:

If he love Cæsar, all that he can do

Is to himself, take thought and die for Cæsar:
And that were much he should; for he is given
To sports, to wildness and much company.

Treb. There is no fear in him; let him not die;
For he will live, and laugh at this hereafter.
Bru. Peace! count the clock.

Cas.

170

180

190 [Clock strikes.

The clock hath stricken three.

But it is doubtful yet,

Treb. "T is time to part.
Cas.
Whether Cæsar will come forth to-day, or no;
For he is superstitious grown of late,
Quite from the main opinion he held once
Of fantasy, of dreams and ceremonies :
It may be, these apparent prodigies,
The unaccustom'd terror of this night,
And the persuasion of his augurers,
May hold him from the Capitol to-day.

Dec. Never fear that: if he be so resolv'd,

I can o'ersway him; for he loves to hear
That unicorns may be betray'd with trees,

192 The clock hath stricken. A great but unimportant anachronism.

197 ceremonies religious ceremonies.

200

204 That unicorns, etc. It was belived that unicorns were captured by leading them to chase a man, who sprang behind a tree when the monster was in full career, leaving the unicorn to thrust his horn so far into the tree that he could neither escape nor defend himself; also that bears would stand still and be shot while they looked at themselves in mirrors. Elephants are taken in pitfalls.

And bears with glasses, elephants with holes,
Lions with toils and men with flatterers;
But when I tell him he hates flatterers,
He says he does, being then most flattered.
Let me work;

For I can give his humour the true bent,
And I will bring him to the Capitol.

Cas. Nay, we will all of us be there to fetch him.
Bru. By the eighth hour: is that the uttermost?
Cin. Be that the uttermost, and fail not then.
Met. Caius Ligarius doth bear Cæsar hard,
Who rated him for speaking well of Pompey :
I wonder none of you have thought of him.

Bru. Now, good Metellus, go along by him:
He loves me well, and I have given him reasons;
Send him but hither, and I'll fashion him.

Cas. The morning comes upon 's: we'll leave you, Brutus. And, friends, disperse yourselves; but all remember

What you have said, and show yourselves true Romans.
Bru. Good gentlemen, look fresh and merrily;
Let not our looks put on our purposes,
But bear it as our Roman actors do,
With untir'd spirits and formal constancy:
And so good morrow to you every one.

Boy! Lucius ! Fast asleep? It is no matter;
Enjoy the honey-heavy dew of slumber :
Thou hast no figures nor no fantasies,
Which busy care draws in the brains of men:
Therefore thou sleep'st so sound.

Por.

Enter PORTIA.

210

220

[Exeunt all but Brutus,

Brutus, my lord!

Bru. Portia, what mean you? wherefore rise you now? It is not for your health thus to commit

Your weak condition to the raw cold morning.

Por. Nor for yours neither. You've ungently, Brutus, Stole from my bed and yesternight, at supper,

You suddenly arose, and walk'd about,

Musing and sighing, with your arms across,
And when I ask'd you what the matter was,
You star'd upon me with ungentle looks;

I urg'd you further; then you scratch'd your head,
And too impatiently stamp'd with your foot;
Yet I insisted; yet you answer'd not,
But, with an angry wafture of your hand,
Gave sign for me to leave you: so I did;
Fearing to strengthen that impatience

230

240