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am ashamed I did yield to them.-
Give me my robe, for I will go:-
Enter PUBLIUS, Brutus, LIGARIUS, METELLUS,
CASCA, TREBONIUS, and CINNA.

And look where Publius is come to fetch me.
Pub. Good morrow, Cæsar.
Cas.
Welcome, Publius.-
What, Brutus, are you stirr'd so early too?—
Good morrow, Casca.-Caius Ligaríus,
Cæsar was ne'er so much your enemy,

As that same ague which hath made you lean.-
What is't o'clock?

Bru.

Cæsar, 'tis strucken eight.
Cas. I thank you for your pains and courtesy.
Enter ANTONY.

See! Antony, that revels long o' nights,
Is notwithstanding up :-
Good morrow, Antony.

Ant.

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I heard a bustling rumour, like a fray,
And the wind brings it from the Capitol.
Luc. Sooth, madam, I hear nothing.
Enter Soothsayer.4

Por.
Which way hast thou been?
Sooth.

Come hither, fellow: At mine own house, good lady.

Por. What is't o'clock ?
Sooth.
About the ninth hour, lady.
Por. Is Cæsar yet gone to the Capitol?
Sooth. Madam, not yet; I go to take my stand,
To see him pass on to the Capitol.

Por. Thou hast some suit to Cæsar, hast thou
not?

Sooth. That I have, lady: if it will please Cæsar

So to most noble Cæsar. To be so good to Cæsar, as to hear me,
I shall beseech him to befriend himself.

Cas. Bid them prepare within:

I am to blame to be thus waited for.-
Now, Cinna:-Now, Metellus :-What, Trebonius!
I have an hour's talk in store for you;
Remember that you call on me to-day:
Be near me, that I may remember you.

Treb. Cæsar, I will-and so near will I be,

[Aside. That your best friends shall wish I had been further. Cas. Good friends, go in, and taste some wine with me;

And we, like friends, will straightway go together.
Bru. That every like is not the same, O Cæsar,
The heart of Brutus yearns to think upon!

[Exeunt. SCENE III. The same. A Street near the Capitol.

Enter ARTEMIDORUS, reading a Paper.
Art. Cæsar, beware of Brutus; take heed of Cas-
sius; come not near Casca; have an eye to Cinna;
trust not Trebonius; mark well Metellus Cimber;
Decius Brutus loves thee not; thou hast wronged
Caius Ligarius. There is but one mind in all these
men, and it is bent against Cæsar. If thou be'st
not immortal, look about you: Security gives way to
conspiracy. The mighty gods defend thee! Thy
lover,
ARTEMIDORUS.

Here will I stand, till Cæsar pass along,
And as a suitor will I give him this.
My heart laments that virtue cannot live
Out of the teeth of emulation.'

[Exit.

If thou read this, O Cæsar, thou may'st live;
If not, the fates with traitors do contrive.2
SCENE IV. The same. Another Part of the
same Street, before the House of Brutus. Enter
PORTIA and Lucius.

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Por. Why, know'st thou any harm's intended towards him?

Sooth. None that I know will be, much that I fear may chance.

[Exit.

Good morrow to you. Here the street is narrow:
The throng that follows Cæsar at the heels,
Of senators, of prætors, common suitors,
Will crowd a feeble man almost to death:
I'll get me to a place more void, and there
Speak to great Caesar as he comes along.
Por. I must go in.-Ah me! how weak a thing
The heart of woman is! O, Brutus !
The heavens speed thee in thine enterprise!
Sure, the boy heard me :-Brutus hath a suit,
That Cæsar will not grant.-O, I grow faint:"
Run, Lucius, and commend me to my lord:
And bring me word what he doth say to thee.
Say, I am merry: come to me again,

ACT III.

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[Exeuns

SCENE I. The same. The Capitol; the Senate
sitting. A Crowd of People in the Street leading
to the Capitol; among them ARTEMIDORUS, and
the Soothsayer. Flourish. Enter CESAR, BRU-
TUS, CASSIUS, CASCA, DECIUS, METELLUS,
TREBONIUS, CINNA, ANTONY, LEPIDUS, POPI-
LIUS, PUBLIUS, and others.

Cas. The ides of March are come.
Sooth. Ay, Cæsar; but not gone.
Art. Hail, Cæsar! Read this schedule.
Dec. Trebonius doth desire you to o'er-read,
At your best leisure, this his humble suit.

Art. O, Cæsar, read mine first; for mine's a suit
That touches Cæsar nearer: Read it, great Cæsar.
Cas. What touches us ourself, shall be last serv'd.
Art. Delay not, Cæsar; read it instantly.
Cas. What, is the fellow mad?
Pub.
Sirrah, give place.
Cas. What, urge you your petitions in the street?
Come to the Ćapitol.

CESAR enters the Capitol, the rest following. All
the Senators rise.

Pop. I wish, your enterprize to-day may thrive.
Cas. What enterprize, Popilius?
Pop.

Fare you well. [Advances to CESAR.

Bru. What said Popilius Lena?

Cat. First, mighty liege, tell me your highness' pleasure,

What from your grace I shall deliver to him.' 4 Mr. Tyrwhitt says, The introduction of the Soothsayer here is unnecessary, and improper. All that he is made to say should be given to Artemidorus; who is seen and accosted by Portia in his passage from his first stand to one more convenient.'

5 These words Portia addresses to Lucius, to deceive him, by assigning a false cause for her present perturbation.

Cas. He wish'd,to-day our enterprize might thrive. I fear our purpose is discover'd.

Bru. Look, how he makes to Cæsar: Mark him. Cas. Casca, be sudden, for we fear prevention. Brutus, what shall be done? If this be known, Cassius or Cæsar never shall turn back, For I will slay myself.

Bru.

Cassius, be constant : Popilius Lena speaks not of our purposes; For, look, he smiles, and Cæsar doth not change. Cas. Trebonius knows his time; for, look you, Brutus,

He draws Mark Antony out of the way.

[Exeunt ANTONY and TREBONIUS. CESAR and the Senators take their seats. Dec. Where is Metellus Cimber? Let him go, And presently prefer his suit to Cæsar. Bru. He is address'd:' press near, and second him. Cin. Casca, you are the first that rears your2 hand. Cas. Are we all ready? what is now amiss, That Cæsar and his senate must redress?

Met. Most high, most mighty, and most puissant Cæsar, Metellus Cimber throws before thy seat An humble heart :

[Kneeling.
Cæs.
I must prevent thee, Cimber.
These couchings, and these lowly courtesies,
Might fire the blood of ordinary men;
And turn pre-ordinance, and first decree,
Into the law of children. Be not fond,
To think that Cæsar bears such rebel blood,
That will be thaw'd from the true quality
With that which melteth fools; I mean, sweet words,
Low-crooked curt'sies, and base spaniel fawning.
Thy brother by decree is banished;

If thou dost bend, and pray, and fawn for him,
I spurn thee like a cur out of my way.
Know, Cesar doth not wrong; nor without cause
Will he be satisfied."

Met. Is there no voice more worthy than my own,
To sound more sweetly in great Cæsar's ear,
For the repealing of my banish'd brother?

Bru. I kiss thy hand, but not in flattery, Cæsar; Desiring thee, that Publius Cimber may Have an immediate freedom of repeal.

1 i. e. he is ready.

2 According to the rules of modern grammar Shakspeare should have written his hand; but other instances of similar false concord are to be found in his compositions. Steevens is angry with Malone for laying them to the charge of the poet, and would transfer them to the player-editors or their printer. Ritson thinks the words Are we all ready? "should be given to Cinna, and not to Cæsar.

8 Pre-ordinance for ordinance already established. 4 The old copy erroneously reads the lane of children.' Lawe, as anciently written, was easily confounded with lane.

5 Ben Jonson has shown the ridicule of this passage in the Induction to The Staple of News; and notices it in his Discoveries as one of the lapses of Shakspeare's pen; but certainly without that malevolence which has been ascribed to him: and be it observed, that is almost the only passage in his works which can justly be construed into an attack on Shakspeare. He has been accused of quoting the passage unfaithfully; but Mr. Tyrwhitt surmised, and Mr. Gifford is decidedly of opinion, that the passage originally stood as cited by Jonson; thus :

Met. Cæsar, thou dost me wrong.

Cas. What, Brutus! Cas.

Pardon, Casar; Cæsar, pardon:
As low as to thy foot doth Cassius fall,
To beg enfranchisement for Publius Cimber.
Cas. I could be well mov'd, if I were as you;
If I could pray to move, prayers would move me:
But I am constant as the northern star,
Of whose true-fix'd, and resting quality,
There is no fellow in the firmament.
The skies are painted with unnumber'd sparks,
They are all fire, and every one doth shine;
But there's but one in all doth hold his place:
So, in the world; "Tis furnish'd well with men,
And men are flesh and blood, and apprehensive ;*
Yet, in the number, I do know but one
That unassailable holds on his rank,
Unshak'd of motion; and, that I am he,
Let me a little show it, even in this;
That I was constant, Cimber should be banish'd,
And constant do remain to keep him so.
Cin. O, Cæsar,

Cas. Cæsar, did never wrong, but with just cause.' Mr. Tyrwhitt has endeavoured to defend the passage by observing, that wrong is not always a synonymous term for injury; and that Cæsar is meant to say, that he doth not inflict any evil or punishment but with just cause. "The fact seems to be (says Mr. Gifford,) that this verse, which closely borders on absurdity, without being absolutely absurd, escaped the poet in the heat of composition; and being one of those quaint slips which are readily remembered, became a jocular and familiar phrase for reproving (as in the passage of Ben Jonson's Induction) the perverse, and unreasonable expectations of the male or female gossips of the day.'

6 i. e. intelligent, capable of apprehending. 7 i. e. still holds his place unshaken by suit or solicitation, of which the object is to move the person addressed.

Hence! wilt thou lift up Olympus?

Cas.
Dec. Great Cæsar,
Cas.
Doth not Brutus bootless kneel?
Casca. Speak, hands, for me..

[CASCA stabs CESAR in the ne k. CESAR
catches hold of his arm. He is then stabbed
by several other Conspirators, and at last
by MARCUS BRUTUS.

Cæs. Et tu, Brute ?-Then, fall, Cæsar.

[Dies. The Senators and People retire in confusion.

Cin. Liberty! Freedom! Tyranny is dead!Run hence, proclaim, cry it about the streets. Cas. Some to the common pulpits, and cry out, Liberty, freedom, and enfranchisement!

Bru. People, and senators! be not affrighted; Fly not; stand still:-ambition's debt is paid. Casca. Go to the pulpit, Brutus." Dec.

Bru. Where's Publius?

And Cassius too.

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Plu

8 Suetonius says, that when Cæsar put Metellu Cimber back he caught hold of Casar's gowne, at both shoulders, whereupon, as he cried out, This is violence, Cassius came in second, full a front, and wounded him a little beneath the throat. Then Cæsar catching Cassius by the arme, thrust it through with his stile or writing punches; and with that, being about to leap forward, he was met with another wound and stayed. Being then assailed on all sides, with three and twenty he was stabbed, during which time he gave but one groan (without any word uttered), and that was at the first thrust; though some have written, that, as Marcus Brutus came running upon him, he said, and thou my sonne. Holland's Translation, 1607. tarch says that, on receiving his first wound from Casca, he caught hold of Casca's sword, and held it hard; and they both cried out, Cæsar in Latin, O vile traitor Casca, what doest thou? and Casca, in Greek, to his brother, Brother, help me.' The conspirators, having then compassed him on every side. hacked and mangled him,' &c.; and then Brutus himself gave him one wound above the privities. Men report also, that Cæsar did still defend himself against the reste, running every way with his bodie; but when he saw Brutus with his sworde drawen, in his hande, then he pulled his gowne over his heade, and made no more resistance. Neither of these writers, therefore, furnished Shakspeare with this exclamation. It occurs in The True Tragedie of Richard Duke of York, 1600; on which he formed the Third Part of King Henry VI.:Et tu, Brute? Wilt thou stab Cæsar too? And is translated in Cæsar's Legend, Mirror for Magis trates, 1587 :

And Brutus thou my sonne, quoth I, whom erst I loved best.'

The words probably appeared originally in the old Latin play on the Death of Cæsar.

9 We have now taken leave of Casca. Shakspeare knew that he had a sufficient number of heroes on his

hands, and was glad to lose an individual in the crowd Casca's singularity of manners would have appeared to little advantage amid the succeeding war and tumult.

JULIUS CAESAR.

Bru. Talk not of standing;-Publius, good cheer; |
There is no harm intended to your person,
Nor to no Roman else: so tell them, Publius.

Cas. And leave us, Publius; lest that the people,
Rushing on us, should do your age some mischief.
Bru. Do so;-and let no man abide this deed,
But we the doers.

Re-enter TREBONIUS.

Cas. Where's Antony?
Tre.

Fled to his house amaz'd:
Men, wives, and children, stare, cry out, and run,
As it were doomsday.

Bru. Fates! we will know your pleasures:-
That we shall die, we know; 'tis but the time,
And drawing days out, that men stand upon.
Cas. Why, he that cuts off twenty years of life,
Cuts off so many years of fearing death.

Bru. Grant that, and then is death a benefit:
So are we Cæsar's friends, that have abridg'd
His time of fearing death.-Stoop, Romans, stoop,
And let us bathe our hands in Cæsar's blood
Up to the elbows, and besmear our swords:
Then walk we forth, even to the market-place;
And, waving our red weapons o'er our heads,
Let's all cry, Peace! Freedom! and Liberty!
Cas. Stoop, then, and wash. How many ages
hence,

Snall this our lofty scene be acted over,
In states unborn, and accents yet unknown?

Bru. How many times shall Cæsar bleed in sport,
That now on Pompey's basis lies along,
No worthier than the dust?

Cas.

Re-enter ANTONY.

201

Bru. But here comes Antony.-Welcome, Mark
Antony.

Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils,
Ant. O, mighty Cæsar! Dost thou lie so low?
Shrunk to this little measure?-Fare thee well.-
I know not, gentlemen, what you intend,
Who else must be let blood, who else is rank:'
If I myself, there is no hour so fit

As Caesar's death's hour! nor no instrument
Of half that worth, as those your swords, made rich
With the most noble blood of all this world.
I do beseech you, if you bear me hard,
Now, whilst your purpled hands do reek and smoke,
I shall not find myself so apt to die :
Fulfil your pleasure. Live a thousand years,
No place will please me so, no mean of death,
As here by Caesar, and by you cut off,
The choice and master spirits of this age.

Bru. O, Antony! beg not your death of us.
Though now we must appear bloody and cruel,
As by our hands, and this our present act,
You see we do; yet see you but our hands,
And this the bleeding business they have done:
Add pity to the general wrong of Rome,
Our hearts you see not, they are pitiful;
(As fire drives out fire, so pity, pity,)
Hath done this deed on Cæsar. For your part,
To you our swords have leaden points, Mark An-
tony:

Our arms in strength of malice, and our hearts,
Of brothers' temper, do receive you in

So oft as that shall be, With all kind love, good thoughts, and reverence.2
Cas. Your voice shall be as strong as any man's,
In the disposing of new dignities."

So often shall the knot of us be call'd
The men that gave our country liberty.
Dec. What, shall we forth?
Cas.

Brutus shall lead; and we will grace his heels
Ay, every man away:
With the most boldest and best hearts of Rome.

Enter a Servant.

Bru. Soft, who comes here? A friend of Antony's.
Serv. Thus, Brutus, did my master bid me kneel;
Thus did Mark Antony bid me fall down:
And, being prostrate, thus he bade me say:
Brutus is noble, wise, valiant, and honest;
Cæsar was mighty, bold, royal, and loving:
Say, I love Brutus, and I honour him;
Say, I fear'd Cæsar, honour'd him, and lov'd him.
If Brutus will vouchsafe, that Antony
May safely come to him, and be resolv'd
How Cæsar hath deserv'd to lie in death,
Mark Antony shall not love Cæsar dead
So well as Brutus living; but will follow
The fortunes and affairs of noble Brutus,
Thorough the hazards of this untrod state,
With all true faith. So says my master Antony.
Bru. Thy master is a wise and valiant Roman;
I never thought him worse.

Tell him, so please him come unto this place,
He shall be satisfied; and, by my honour,
Depart untouch'd.
Serv.

I'll fetch him presently.
Bru. I know that we shall have him well to friend.
[Exit Servant.
Cas. I wish we may: but yet have I a mind,
That fears him much; and my misgiving still
Falls shrewdly to the purpose.

1 Johnson explains this:- Who else may be supposed to have overtopped his equals, and grown too high for the public safety. This explanation will derive more support than has yet been given to it, from the following speech of Oliver, in As You Like it, Act i. Sc. 1, when incensed at the high bearing of his brother Orlando:- Is it even so? begin you to grow upon me? I will physic your rankness.'

2 To you (says Brutus) our swords have leaden points: our arms, strong in the deed of malice they have just performed, and our hearts united like those of brothers in the action, are yet open to receive you with all possible regard. This explanation by Steevens is, it must be confessed, very ingenious; and yet I think we should read, as he himself suggested:

'Our arms no strength of malice ;'

Bru. Only be patient, till we have appeas'd
The multitude, beside themselves with fear,
And then we will deliver you the cause,
Why I, that did love Cæsar when I struck him,
Have thus proceeded.

Let each man render me his bloody hand:
Ant.
First, Marcus Brutus, will I shake with you :-
I doubt not of your wisdom.
Next, Caius Cassius, do I take your hand
Now, Decius Brutus, yours ;-now yours, Metellus;
Yours, Cinna;-and, my valiant Casca, yours ;-
Though last, not least in love, yours, good Trebo-

nius.

-

Gentlemen all,-alas! what shall I say?
My credit now stands on such slippery ground,
That one of two bad ways you must conceit me,
Either a coward or a flatterer.-

That I did love thee, Cæsar, O, 'tis true:
If then thy spirit look upon us now,
Shall it not grieve thee, dearer than thy death
To see thy Antony making his peace,
Most noble! in the presence of thy corse?
Shaking the bloody fingers of thy foes,
Had I as many eyes as thou hast wounds,
Weeping as fast as they stream forth thy blood,
It would become me better, than to close
In terms of friendship with thine enemies.
Pardon me,
Here didst thou fall; and here thy hunters stand,
Julius!-Here wast thou bay'd, brave
Sign'd in thy spoil, and crimson'd in thy lethe.
which would render the passage clear without a com-
mentary.

hart:

tained the consistency of Cassius's character, who,
3 Mr. Blakeway observes, that Shakspeare has main-
being selfish and greedy himself, endeavours to influence
Antony by similar motives. Brutus, on the other hand,
is invariably represented as disinterested and generous,
and is adorned by the poet with so many good qualities,
that we are almost tempted to forget that he was an
assassin.

4 Lethe is used by many old writers for death.
The proudest nation that great Asia nurs'd
Is now extinct in lethe,'

It appears to have been used as a word of one syllable
Heywood's Iron Age, Part ii. 1632.
in this sense; and is derived from lethum, Lat. Our
ancient language was also enriched with the derivatives
lethal, lethality, lethiferous, &c.

O world! thou wast the forest to this hart;
And this, indeed, O world, the heart of thee.-
How like a deer, stricken by many princes,
Dost thou here lie!

Cas. Mark AntonyAnt.

To beg the voice and utterance of my tongue!-
A curse shall light upon the limbs of men;3
Domestic fury, and fierce civil strife,
Shall cumber all the parts of Italy:
Blood and destruction shall be so in use,

Pardon me, Caius Cassius: And dreadful objects so familiar,

The enemies of Cæsar shall say this;
Then, in a friend, it is cold modesty.

Cas. I blame you not for praising Cæsar so;
But what compact mean you to have with us?
Will you be prick'd in number of our friends;
Or shall we on, and not depend on you?

Ant. Therefore I took your hands; but was in-
deed,

Sway'd from the point, by looking down on Cæsar.
Friends' am I with you all, and love you all;
Upon this hope, that you shall give me reasons,
Why, and wherein, Cæsar was dangerous.

Bru. Or else were this a savage spectacle :
Our reasons are so full of good regard,
That were you, Antony, the son of Cæsar,
You should be satisfied."

Ant.

That's all I seek:
And am moreover suitor, that I may
Produce his body to the market-place;
And in the pulpit, as becomes a friend,
Speak in the order of his funeral.
Bru. You shall, Mark Antony.
Cas.
Brutus, a word with you.-
You know not what you do; Do not consent,

[Aside.

That Antony speak in his funeral:
Know you how much the people may be mov'd
By that which he will utter?
Bru.

By your pardon;
I will myself into the pulpit first,
And show the reason of our Caesar's death:
What Antony shall speak, I will protest
He speaks by leave and by permission;
And that we are contented, Cæsar shall
Have all true rites, and lawful ceremonies.
It shall advantage more, than do us wrong.

Cas. I know not what may fall; I like it not. Bru. Mark Antony, here, take you Cæsar's body. You shall not in your funeral speech blame us, But speak all good you can devise of Cæsar; And say, you do't by our permission; Else shall you not have any hand at all About his funeral: and you shall speak In the same pulpit whereto I am going, After my speech is ended.

Ant.

I do desire no more.

Be it so ;

Bru. Prepare the body, then, and follow us.
[Exeunt all but ANTONY.

Ant. O, pardon me, thou piece of bleeding earth,
That I am meek and gentle with these butchers!
Thou art the ruins of the noblest man,
That ever lived in the tide of times.2
Wo to the hand that shed this costly blood!
Over thy wounds now do I prophesy,-
Which, like dumb mouths, do ope their ruby lips,

1 This gramatical impropriety is still so prevalent, that the omission of the anomalous & would give some uncouthness to the sound of an otherwise familiar expression.

2 That is, in the course of times

3 By men, Antony means not mankind in general, but those Romans whose attachment to the cause of the conspirators, or wish to revenge Caesar's death, would expose them to wounds in the civil wars which he sup posed that event would give rise to. The generality of the curse is limited by the subsequent words, the parts of Italy,' and 'in these contines.'

4 Cry Havoc, and let slip the dogs of war.' Havoc was the word by which declaration was made, in the military operations of old, that no quarter should be given as appears from the Office of the Constable and Mareschall in the Tyme of Werre,' included in the Black Book of the Admiralty.

To let slip a dog was the technical phrase in hunting the hart, for releasing the hounds from the leash or slip of leather by which they were held in hand until it was judged proper to let them pursue the animal chased.

That mothers shall but smile, when they behold
Their infants quarter'd with the hands of war;
All pity chok'd with custom of fell deeds:
And Cæsar's spirit, ranging for revenge,
With Ate by his side, come hot from hell,
Shall in these confines, with a monarch's voice,
Cry Havoc, and let slip the dogs of war;
That this foul deed shall smell above the earth
With carrion men, groaning for burial.
Enter a Servant.

You serve Octavius Caesar, do you not?
Serv. I do, Mark Antony.

Ant. Cæsar, did write for him to come to Rome.
Serv. He did receive his letters, and is coming:
And bid me say to you by word of mouth,-
0, Cæsar!
[Seeing the Body.
Ant. Thy heart is big, get thee apart and weep.
Passion, I see, is catching; for mine eyes,
Seeing those beads of sorrow stand in thine,
Began to water. Is thy master coming?

Serv. He lies to-night within seven leagues of

Rome.

Ant. Post back with speed, and tell him what
hath chanc'd:

Here is a mourning Rome, a dangerous Rome
No Rome of safety for Octavius yet;
Hie hence, and tell him so. Yet, stay awhile;
Thou shalt not back, till I have borne this corse
Into the market-place: there shall I try,
In my oration, how the people take
The cruel issue of these bloody men;
According to the which, thou shalt discourse
To young Octavius of the state of things.
Lend me your hand.

[Exeunt, with CESAR's Body. SCENE II. The same. The Forum. Enter BRUTUS and CASSIUS, and a Throng of Citizens. Cit. We will be satisfied; let us be satisfied. Bru. Then follow me, and give me audience, friends.

Cassius, go you into the other street,

And part the numbers.

Those that will hear me speak, let them stay here;
Those that will follow Cassius, go with him;
And public reasons shall be rendered

Of Caesar's death.

1 Cit.

I will hear Brutus speak.

2 Cit. I wil hear Cassius; and compare their

reasons,

When severally we hear them rendered.

[Exit CASSIUS, with some of the Citizens, BRUTUS goes into the Rostrum.

3 Cit. The noble Brutus is ascended: Silence! Romans, countrymen, and lovers! hear me for my Bru. Be patient till the last.

Steele, in the Tattler, No. 137, and some others after him, think that, by the dogs of war, fire, sword, and famine are typified. So in the Chorus to Act i. of King Henry V. :

at his heels, Leash'd in like hounds, should famine, sword, and fire, Crouch for employment.'

occurred before in Act i. Sc. 2:5 This jingling quibble upon Rome and room has

It is deserving of notice on no other account than as it 'Now is it Rome indeed, and room enough.' shows the pronunciation of Rome in Shakspeare's time. So in Heywood's Rape of Lucrece, 1638:

You shall have my room,

My Rome indeed; for what I seem to be,
Brutus is not, but born great Rome to free.'

6 Warburton thinks this speech very fine in its kimi, though unlike the laconic style of ancient oratory attri buted to Brutus. Steevens observes that this artificial jingle of short sentences was affected by most of the orators of Shakspeare's time, whether in the pulp JP

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2 Cit. Go, fetch fire.

3 Cit. Pluck down benches. 4 Cit. Pluck down forms, windows, any thing. [Exeunt Citizens, with the Body. Ant. Now let it work: Mischief, thou art afoot, Take thou what course thou wilt!-How now, fellow?

Enter a Servant.

Serv. Sir, Octavius is already come to Rome.
Ant. Where is he?

Serv. He and Lepidus are at Caesar's house.
Ant. And thither will I straight to visit him:
He comes upon a wish. Fortune is merry,
And in this mood will give us any thing.

Serv. I heard him say, Brutus and Cassius
Are rid like madmen through the gates of Rome.
Ant. Belike, they had some notice of the people,
How I had mov'd them. Bring me to Octavius.

[Exeunt.

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Cin. I dreamt to-night, that I did feast with Caesar, and things unluckily charge my fantasy:1

I have no will to wander forth of doors,

Yet something leads me forth.

1 Cit. What is your name?

2 Cit. Whither are you going?

3 Cit. Where do you dwell?

4 Cit. Are you a married man, or a bachelor?

2 Cit. Answer every man directly. 1 Cit. Ay, and briefly.

4 Cit. Ay, and wisely.

3 Cit. Ay, and truly, you were best.

Cin. What is my name? Whither am I going? Where do I dwell? Am I a married man, or a bachelor? Then to answer every man directly, and briefly, wisely, and truly. Wisely I say, I am a

bachelor.

3 Cit. That's as much as to say, they are fools that marry:-You'll bear me a bang for that, I fear. Proceed; directly.

Cin. Directly, I am going to Cæsar's funeral. 1 Cit. As a friend, or an enemy?

Cin. As a friend.

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ACT IV. Juss

SCENE I-The same. A Room in Antony's House.2 ANTONY, OCTAVIUS, and LEPIDUS, seated at a Table.

Ant. These many then shall die; their names are prick'd.

Oct. Your brother too must die; Consent you, Lepidus?

Lep. I do consent.
Oct.
Prick him down, Antony
Lep. Upon condition Publius shall not live,
Who is your sister's son, Mark Antony.
Ant. He shall not live; look, with a spot I damn
him.

But, Lepidus, go you to Cæsar's house;
Fetch the will hither, and we will determine
How to cut off some charge in legacies.
Lep. What, shall I find you here?
Oct.

The Capitol.

Or here, or at [Exit LEPIDUS. Ant. This is a slight unmeritable man, Meet to be sent on errands: Is it fit, The threefold world divided, he should stand One of the three to share it?

Oct. So you thought him; And took his voice who should be prick'd to die, In our black sentence and proscription.

Ant. Octavius, I have seen more days than you: And though we lay these honours on this man, To ease ourselves of divers slanderous loads, He shall but bear them as the ass bears gold.5 To groan and sweat under the business, Either led or driven, as we point the way; And having brought our treasure where we will, Then take we down his load, and turn him off, Like to the empty ass, to shake his ears, And graze in commons.

Oct.

You may do your will; But he's a tried and valiant soldier.

Ant. So is my horse, Octavius; and, for that, I do appoint him store of provender.

It is a creature that I teach to fight,

To wind, to stop, to run directly on;

His corporal motion govern'd by my spirit.
And, in some taste, is Lepidus but so;

He must be taught, and train'd, and bid go forth;
A barren-spirited fellow; one that feeds
On objects, arts, and imitations;
Which, out of use, and stal'd by other men,
Begin his fashion. Do not talk of him,
But as a property." And now, Octavius,
Listen great things.-Brutus and Cassius
Therefore let our alliance be combin'd,
Are levying powers: we must straight make head:

Our best friends made, and our best means stretch'd out,8

And let us presently go sit in council,
How cover! matters may be best disclos'd,
And open perils surest answered.

Oct. Let us do SO ; for we are at the stake,
And bay'd about with many enemies;
And some, that smile, have in their hearts, I fear,
Millions of mischiefs.
[Exeunt.

2 The place of this scene is not marked in the old 6 Shakspeare had already woven this circumstance copy. It appears from Plutarch and Appian, that these into the character of Justice Shallow: He came ever triumvirs met, upon the proscription, in a little island in the rearward of the fashion; and sung those tunes near Mutina, upon the river Lavinius. That Shak-that he heard the carmen whistle." speare, however, meant the scene to be at Rome may be Laferred from what almost immediately follows:Lep. What, shall I find you here?

Oct. Or here, or at the Capitol.'

Malone placed the scene in Antony's house.

3 Upton has shown that the poet made a mistake as so this character mentioned by Lepidus; Lucius, not Publius, was the person meant, who was uncle by the mother's side to Mark Antony.

4 i. e. condemn him.

⚫ Vouchsafe to give my damned husband life. Promos and Cassandra, 1578. 3 So in Measure for Measure, Act iii. Sc. 1:like an ass, whose back with ingots bows, Thou bear'st thy heavy riches but a journey. Till death unloads thee.'

7 i. e. as a thing quite at our disposal, and to be treated as we please. Malvolio complains in Twelfth Night:

They have propertied me, kept me in darkness.'

8 The old copy gives this line imperfectly :Our best friends made, our means stretch'd.' Malone supplied it thus:

Our best friends made, our means stretch'd to the

utmost.'

The reading of the text is that of the second folio edition, which is suficiently perspicuous.

9 An allusion to bear baiting. Thus in Macbeth, Act v. Sc. 7:

They have chain'd me to a stake I cannot fly, But bear-like, I must ght the course

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