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Cas. My heart is thirsty for that noble pledge :Fill, Lucius, till the wine o'erswel! the cup; cannot drink too much of Brutus' love. [Drinks.

Re-enter TITINIUS with MESSALA.

The enemy increaseth every day,
We, at the height, are ready to decline
There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to iortune :
Omitted, all the voyage of their life

Bru. Come in, Titinius :-Welcome, good Mes- Is bound in shallows, and in miseries.

sala.

Now sit we close about this taper here,

And call in question our necessities.
Cas. Fortia, art thou gone?
Bru.
Messala, I have here received letters,
That young Octavius, and Mark Antony,
Come down upon us with a mighty power,
Bending their expedition toward Philippi.

On such a full sea are we now afloat ;
And we must take the current when it serves,

Or lose our ventures. Cas.

Then, with your will, go on

No more, I pray you. We'll along ourselves, and meet them at Philippi.
Bru. The deep of night is crept upon our taik,
And nature must obey necessity;
Which we will niggard with a little rest.
There is no more to say?

Mes. Myself have letters of the selfsame tenour. Bru. With what addition?

Mes. That by proscription, and bills of outlawry, Octavius, Antony, and Lepidus,

Have put to death an hundred senators.

Bru. Therein our letters do not well agree;
Mine speak of seventy senators, that died
By their proscriptions, Cicero being one.
Cas. Cicero one?
Mes.

Ay, Cicero is dead,
And by that order of proscription.-—

Had you your letters from your wife, my lord?

Bru. No, Messala.

Mes. Nor nothing in your letters writ of her? Bru. Nothing, Messala.

Mes.

That, methinks, is strange.

Bru. Why ask you? Hear you aught of her in yours?

Mes. No, my lord.

Bru. Now, as you are a Roman, tell me true. Mes. Then like a Roman bear the truth I tell: For certain she is dead, and by strange manner. Bru. Why, farewell, Portia.-We must die,

Messala:

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Good night,

Cas.
No more.
Early to-morrow will we rise, and hence.
Bru. Lucius, my gown. [Exit LUCIUS.] Fare
well, good Messala ;-

Good night, Titinius :-Noble, noble Cassius
Good night, and good repose.

Cas.
O, my dear brother
This was an ill beginning of the night :
Never come such division 'tween our souls!
Let it not, Brutus.
Bru.

Every thing is well. Cas. Good night, my lord.

Good night, good brotnei.

Bru.
Tit. Mes. Good night, Lord Brutus.
Bru.

Farewell, every one.

[Exeunt CAS. TIT. and MES. Re-enter LUCIUS, with the Gown.

Give me the gown. Where is thy instrument?
Luc. Here in the tent.
Bru.

What, thou speak'st drowsily: Poor knave, I blame thee not; thou art o'erwatch'd.

Call Claudius, and some other of my men ;

I'll have them sleep on cushions in my tent.
Luc. Varro, and Claudius!

Enter VARRO and CLAUDIUS.

Var. Calls my lord?

Bru. I pray you, sirs, lie in my tent, and sleep, It may be, I shall raise you by and by On business to my brother Cassius.

Var. So please you, we will stand, and watch your pleasure.

Bru. I will not have it so: lie down, good sirs It may be, I shall otherwise bethink me.

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This it is: Look, Lucius, here's the book I sought for so;
I put it in the pocket of my gown. [Servants lie down.
Luc. I was sure, your lordship did not give it me.
Bru. Bear with me, good boy, I am much for-
getful.

So shall he waste his means, weary his soldiers, Doing himself offence; whilst we, lying still,

Are full of rest, defence, and nimbleness.

Bru. Good reasons must, of force, give place to Canst thou hold up thy heavy eyes awhile,

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And touch thy instrument a strain or two?
Luc. Ay, my lord, an it please you.
Bru.

It does, my boy:
I trouble thee too much, but thou art willing.
Luc. It is my duty, sir.

Bru. I should not urge thy duty past thy might; I know, young bloods look for a time to rest. Luc. I have slept, my lord, already.

Bru. It is well done; and thou shalt sleep again; I will not hold thee long: if I do live, I will be good to thee.

[Music, and a Song. This is a sleepy tune:-0, murd'rous slumber ! Lay'st thou thy leaden mace1 upon my boy,

A similar sentiment is found in Chapman's Bussy d'Am

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That plays thee music?-Gentle knave, good night!
I will not do thee so much wrong to wake thee.
If thou dost nod, thou break'st thy instrument;
I'll take it from thee; and, good boy, good night.
Let me see, let me see;-Is not the leaf turn'd
down,

Where I left reading? Here it is, I think.

| They mean to warr2 us at Philippi here,
Answering before we do demand of them.

3

Ant. Tut, I am in their bosoms, and I know
Wherefore they do it: they could be content
To visit other places; and come down
With fearful bravery, thinking, by this face,
To fasten in our thoughts that they have courage,
Enter a Messenger.

[He sits down. But 'tis not so.

Enter the Ghost of CESAR.

How ill this taper burns!-Ha! who comes here?
I think, it is the weakness of mine eyes,
That shapes this monstrous apparition.
It comes upon me :-Art thou any thing?
Art thou some god, some angel, or some devil,
That mak'st my blood cold, and my hair to stare?
Speak to me, what thou art.

Ghost. Thy evil spirit, Brutus.
Bru.

Why com'st thou?
Ghost. To tell thee, thou shalt see me at Philippi.
Bru. Well ;

Then I shall see thee again?1

Ghost.

Ay, at Philippi.

Bru. Why, I will see thee at Philippi, then.—

Now I have taken heart, thou vanishest:

Ill spirit, I would hold more talk with thee.

Mess.
Prepare you, generals :
The enemy comes on in gallant show,
Their bloody sign of battle is hung out,
And something to be done immediately.
Ant. Octavius, lead your battle softly on,
Upon the left hand of the even field.
Oct. Upon the right hand I, keep thou the left.
Ant. Why do you cross me in this exigent?
Oct. I do not cross you; but I will do so.
Drum. Enter BRUTUS, CASSIUS, and their Army,
[March
LUCILIUS, TITINIUS, MESSALA, and others.
Bru. They stand, and would have parley.
Cas. Stand fast, Titinius: We must out and
talk.

Oct. Mark Antony, shall we give sign of battle?
Ant. No, Cæsar, we will answer on their charge.

Boy! Lucius!-Varro! Claudius! Sirs, awake!-Make forth, the general would have some words. Claudius!

Luc. The strings, my lord, are false.

Bru. He thinks, he still is at his instrument.

Lucius awake.

Luc. My lord!

Bru. Didst thou dream, Lucius, that thou so cryd'st out?

Luc. My lord, I do not know that I did cry.

Oct. Stir not until the signal.

Bru. Words before blows: Is it so, countrymen?
Oct. Not that we love words better, as you do.
Bru. Good words are better than bad strokes,

Octavius.

Ant. In your bad strokes, Brutus, you give good words:

Witness the hole you made in Cæsar's heart,

Bru. Yes, that thou didst: Didst thou see any Crying, Long live! hail, Cæsar ! thing?

Luc. Nothing, my lord.

Bru. Sleep again, Lucius.-Sirrah, Claudius!

Fellow thou! awake.

Var. My lord.

Clau. My lord.

Bru. Why did you so cry out, sirs, in your sleep?
Var. Clau. Did we, my lord?
Bru.

Ay; Saw you any thing?
Var. No, my lord, I saw nothing.
Clau.
Nor I, my lord.
Bru. Go, and commend me to my brother Cas-
sius;
Bid him set on his powers betimes before,
And we will follow.
Var. Clau.

SCENE I.

It shall be done, my lord.
[Exeunt.

ACT V.

The Plains of Philippi. Enter Oc-
TAVIUS, ANTONY, and their Army.

Oct. Now, Antony, our hopes are answered:
You said the enemy would not come down,
But keep the hills and upper regions;

It proves not so: their battles are at hand;

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Bru. O, yes, and soundless, too;
For you have stol'n their buzzing, Antony,
And, very wisely, threat before you sting.

Ant. Villains, you did not so, when your vile
daggers

Hack'd one another in the sides of Cæsar :
You show'd your teeth like apes, and fawn'd ike
hounds,

And bow'd like bondmen, kissing Cæsar's feet;
Whilst damned Casca, like a cur, behind,
Struck Cæsar on the neck. O, flatterers!

Cas. Flatterers!-Now, Brutus, thank yourself •
This tongue had not offended so to-day,
If Cassius might have rul'd.

Oct. Come, come, the cause: If arguing make
us sweat,

The proof of it will turn to redder drops.
Look ;

I draw a sword against conspirators;
When think you that the sword goes up again
Never, till Cæsar's three and twenty wounds

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1 Shakspeare has on this occasion deserted his ori-sense, for producing fear, or terrible, it may in this inby Shakspeare and his contemporaries in an active ginal. It does not appear from Plutarch that the ghost stance bear its usual acceptation of timorous, or, as it of Cæsar appeared to Brutus, but a wonderful straunge was sometimes expressed, false-hearted. Thus in a and monstrous shape of a body.' This apparition could passage, cited by Steevens, from Sidney's Arcadia, lib. not be at once the shade of Cæsar and the evil genius of: Her horse faire and lustie; which she rid so as Brutus. See the story of Cassius Parmensis in Valerius Maximus, lib. i. c. vii. Shakspeare had read the account of this vision in Plutarch's Life of Cæsar, as well as in that of Brutus; it is there called the ghost, and it is said that the light of the lampe waxed very dimme.' It is more than probable that the poet would consult the Life of Cæsar, as well as that of Brutus, in search of materials for his play.

2 To warn is to summon. So in King John :

'Who is it that hath warn'd us to the walls.' And in King Richard III. :—

'And sent to warn them to his royal presence.', 3 'Fearful bravery. Though fearful is often used

might show a fearful boldness, daring to do that which she knew that she knew not how to doe.'

4 The posture of your blows are yet unknown.’ It should be is yet unknown;' but the error was probably the poet's: more correct writers than Shakspeare have committed this error, where a plural noun immediately precedes the verb, although it be the nominative case by which it is governed. Steevens attributes the error to the transcriber or printer, and would have it corrected; but Malone has adduced several examples of similar inaccuracy in Shakspeare's writings.

5 The old copy reads, two-and-thirty wounds. Theo bald corrected the error, which Beaumont and Fletcher have also fallen into in their Noble Gentleman

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This is my birth-day; as this very day
Was Cassius born. Give me thy hand, Messala:
Be thou my witness, that against my will,
As Pompey was, am I compell'd to set
Upon one battle all our liberties.
You know, that I held Epicurus strong,
And his opinion: now I change my mind,
And partly credit things that do presage.
Coming from Sardis, on our former3 ensign
Two mighty eagles fell, and there they perch'd,
Gorging and feeding from our soldiers' hands;
Who to Philippi here consorted us ;

This morning are they fled away, and gone;
And in their steads, do ravens, crows, and kites,
Fly o'er our heads, and downward look on us,
As we were sickly prey;4 their shadows seem
A canopy most faithful, under which
Our army lies, ready to give up the ghost.
Mes. Believe not so.
Cas.
I but believe it partly;
For I am fresh of spirit, and resolv'd
To meet all perils very constantly.
Bru. Even so, Lucilius.
Cas.

Now, most noble Brutus,
The gods to-day stand friendly; that we may,
Lovers in peace, lead on our days to age!
But, since the affairs of men rest still uncertain,
Let's reason with the worst that may
may befall.
If we do lose this battle, then is this
The very last time we shall speak together:
What are you then determined to do 5

Bru. Even by the rule of that philosophy, By which I did blame Cato for the death Which he did give himself:-I know not how,

1 Hurl is peculiarly expressive. The challenger was said to hurl down his gage when he threw his glove down as a pledge that he would make good his charge against his adversary.

'And interchangeably hurl down my gage Upon this over-weening traitor's foot." King Richard II. Milton perhaps had this passage in mind, Paradise Lost, n i. v. 669 :

'Hurling defiance toward the vault of Heaven.' 2 Almost every circumstance in this speech is taken rom Sir Thomas North's translation of Plutarch. 3 i. e. fore ensign; it probably means the chief ensign. Baret has the former teeth [ì. e. fore teeth,] dentes primores.'

4 So in King John:-

'As doth a raven on a sick-fallen prey.'

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Then, if we lose this battle, You are contented to be led in triumph Thorough the streets of Rome ?

Bru. No, Cassius, no: think not, thou noble Roman,

day

That ever Brutus will go bound to Rome;
He bears too great a mind. But this same
Must end that work, the ides of March begun;
And whether we shall meet again, I know not.
Therefore our everlasting farewell take :-
For
ever, and for ever, farewell, Cassius!
If we do meet again, why we shall smile;
If not, why then this parting was well made.
Cas. For ever, and for ever, farewell, Brutus!
If we do meet again, we'll smile indeed:
If not, 'tis true, this parting was well made.
Bru. Why, then, lead on.-O, that a man might

know

The end of this day's business, ere it come!
But it sufficeth, that the day will end,
And then the end is known.-Come, ho! away!

[Exeunt SCENE II. The same. The Field of Battle. Alarum. Enter BRUTUS and MESSALA.

Bru. Ride, ride, Messala, ride, and give these bills8

Unto the legions on the other side: [Loud Alarum.
Let them set on at once; for I perceive
But cold demeanour in Octavius' wing,
And sudden push gives them the overthrow.
Ride, ride, Messala: let them all come down.

[Exeunt.

SCENE III. The same. Another Part of the Field.
Alarum. Enter CASSIUS and TITINIUS.
Cas. O, look, Titinius, look, the villains fly!
Myself have to mine own turn'd enemy:
This ensign here of mine was turning back :
I slew the coward, and did take it from him.
Tit. O Cassius, Brutus gave the word too carly .
Who having some advantage on Octavius,
Took it too eagerly; his soldiers fell to spoil.
Whilst we by Antony are all enclos'd.
Enter PINDarus.

Pin. Fly further off, my lord, fly further off;
Mark Antony is in your tents, my lord!
Fly, therefore, noble Cassius, fly far off.

Cas. This hill is far enough. Look, look, Titinius;
Are those my tents, where I perceive the fire?
Tit. They are, my lord.

Cas. Titinius, if thou lov'st me, Mount thou my horse, and hide thy spurs in him, Till he have brought thee up to yonder troops, And here again: that I may rest assur'd, Whether yond' troops are friend or enemy.

between the sentiments Brutus expresses in this and in his subsequent speech; but there is no real inconsistency. Brutus had laid down to himself as a principle, to abide every chance and extremity of war; but when Cassius reminds him of the disgrace of being led in triumph through the streets of Rome, he acknowledges that to be a trial which he could not endure. Shakspeare, in the first speech, makes that to be the present opinion of Brutus, which in Plutarch is mentioned only as one he formerly entertained, and that, being now in the midst of danger, he was of a contrary mind.

7 This, though censured as ungrammatical, was the phraseology of the poet's day, as might be shown by numerous examples. But Dryden and Pope have used it, and Johnson has sanctioned it in his Dictionary :'Begin, v. n. I began, or begun.' The fact is, that the past tense was, in our old language, written begon o

5 i. e. I am resolved in such a case to kill myself.-begonne. What are you determined of?

S This and much of the subsequent scene is from the

6 To prevent,' is here used for to anticipate. By old translation of Plutarch :-'In the meane tyme Bru time is meant the full and complete time; the natural tus, that led the right winge, sent little billes to the period. See note on King Henry IV. Part II. Act i. Sc. 2. collonels and captaines of private bandes, in which hɛ It has been said that there is an apparent contradiction I wrote the order of the battle.'

Tit. I will be here again, even with a thought.' Exit. Cas. Go, Pindarus, get higher on that hill;2 My sight was ever thick; regard Titinius, And tell me what thou not'st about the field. [Exit PINDARUS. This day I breathed first time is come round,3 And where I did begin, there shall I end ; My life is run his compass.-Sirrah, what news? Pin. [Above.] O, my lord! Cas. What news?

4

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Come hither, sirrah:

In Parthia did I take thee prisoner;
And then I swore thee, saving of thy life,
That whatsoever I did bid thee do,
[oath!
Thou should'st attempt it. Come now, keep thine
Now be a freeman; and with this good sword,
That ran through Cæsar's bowels, search this bosom.
Stand not to answer: Here, take thou the hilts;
And, when my face is cover'd as 'tis now,
Guide thou the sword.-Cæsar, thou art reveng'd,
Even with the sword that kill'd thee. [Dies.
Pin. So, I am free; yet would not so have been,
Durst I have done my will. O, Cassius!
Far from this country Pindarus shall run,
Where never Roman shall take note of him. [Exit.
Re-enter TITINIUS, with MESSALA.

Mes. It is but change, Titinius; for Octavius
Is overthrown by noble Brutus' power,

As Cassius' legions are by Antony.

Tit. These tidings will well comfort Cassius.
Mes. Where did you leave him?
Tit.

All disconsolate, With Pindarus his bondman, on this hill.

Mes. Is not that he, that lies upon the ground? Tit. He lies not like the living. O, my heart! Mes. Is not that he? Tit. No, this was he, Messala, But Cassius is no more.-O, setting sun! As in thy red rays thou dost sink to night, So in his red blood Cassius' day is set;

The sun of Rome is set! Our day is gone; [done! Clouds, dews, and dangers come; our deeds are Mistrust of my success hath done this deed.

Mes. Mistrust of good success hath done this
deed,-

O, hateful error, melancholy's child!
Why dost thou show to the apt thoughts of men
The things that are not? O, error, soon conceiv'd,
Thou never com'st unto a happy birth,
But kill'st the mother that engender'd thee.

Tit. What, Pindarus; Where art thou, Pindarus?
Mes. Seek him, Titinius: whilst I go to meet
The noble Brutus, thrusting this report
Into his ears: I may say, thrusting it
For piercing steel, and darts envenomed,
Shall be as welcome to the ears of Brutus,
As tidings of this sight.

Tit.

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Hic you, Messala,

And I will seek for Pindarus the while.

[Exit MESSALA. 1 The same expression occurs in Antony and Cleopatra :—

"That which was a horse, even with a thought,
The rack dislimns.'

2 Cassius is now on a hill: he therefore means a hillock somewhat higher than that on which he now is. So in King Lear, the Bastard, dying, says :'The wheel is come full circle.'

4 Sırrah, as appears from many of the old plays, was the usual address in speaking servants and children. See note on Macbeth, Act i7

Why didst thou send me forth, brave Cassius?
Did I not meet thy friends? and did not they
Put on my brows this wreath of victory,

And bid me give 't thee? Didst thou not hear their shouts ?

Alas, thou hast misconstrued every thing.
But hold thee, take this garland on thy brow,
Thy Brutus bid me give it thee, and I
Will do his bidding,-Brutus, come apace,
And see how I regarded Caius Cassius.-
By your leave, gods:-This is a Roman's part
Come, Cassius' sword, and find Titinius' heart
[Dies
Alarum. Re-enter MESSALA, with BRUTUS, young
CATO, STRATO, VOLUMNIUS, and LUCILIUS.
Bru. Where, where, Messala, doth his body lie?
Mes. Lo, yonder; and Titinius mourning it.
Bru. Titinius' face is upward.
Cato.

He is slain.

Bru. O, Julius Cæsar, thou art mighty yet! Thy spirit walks abroad, and turns our swords In our own proper entrails." Cato.

[Low Alarums. Brave Titinius!

Look, whe'r he have not crown'd dead Cassius !
Bru. Are yet two Romans living such as these?
The last of all the Romans, fare thee well !6
It is impossible, that ever Rome
Should breed thy fellow.-Friends, I owe more tears
To this dead man, than you shall see me pay.-
I shall find time, Cassius, I shall find time.-
Come, therefore, and to Thassos send his body;
His funeral shall not be in our camp,
Lest it discomfort us.-Lucilius, come;—
And come, young Cato; let us to the field.-
Labeo, and Flavius, set our battles on:-
'Tis three o'clock; and, Romans, yet ere night
We shall try fortune in a second fight. [Exeunt.
SCENE IV. Another Part of the Field. Alarıın.
Enter, fighting, Soldiers of both Armies; then
BRUTUS, CATO, LUCILIUS, and others.
Bru. Yet, countrymen, O, yet, hold up your

heads!

go

Cato. What bastard doth not? Who will with me?

I will proclaim my name about the field :-
I am the son of Marcus Cato, ho!
I am the son of Marcus Cato, ho!
A foe to tyrants, and my country's friend:

[Charges the Enemy. Bru. And I am Brutus, Marcus Brutus, I; Brutus, my country's friend: know me for Brutus. [Exit, charging the Enemy. CATO is overpowered, and falls.

Why, now thou diest as bravely as Titinius;
Luc. O, young and noble Cato, art thou down?
And may'st be honour'd, being Cato's son.
1 Sold. Yield, or thou diest.
Luc.

There is so much that thou wilt kill me straight; Only I yield to die : [Offering Money.

Kill Brutus, and be honour'd in his death. 1 Sold. We must not.-A noble prisoner! 2 Sold. Room, ho! Tell Antony, Brutus is ta'en. 1 Sold. I'll tell the news.-Here comes the ge. neral:

Enter ANTONY.

Brutus is ta'en, Brutus is ta'en, my lord.

Ant. Where is he?

Luc. Safe, Antony; Brutus is safe enough: I dare assure thee, that no enemy

5

populumque potentem

In sua victrici conversum viscera dextra.'
Lucan, lib. i

6 'So when he [Brutus] was come thither, after he had lamented the death of Cassius, calling him the last of all the Romans, being impossible that Rome should ever breed againe so noble and valiant a man as he, hẹ caused his body to be buried.'-North's Plutarch.

'Objectum est Historico (Cremutio Cordo. Tacit Ann lib. iv. 34,) quod Brutum Cassiumque ultimos Romeno rum dixisset.-Suet. Tiber lib iii. c. 61

Shall ever take alive the noble Brutus :
The gods defend him from so great a shame!
When you do find him, or alive, or dead,
He will be found like Brutus, like himself.

Ant. This is not Brutus, friend; but, I assure you,
A prize no less in worth: keep this man safe,
Give him all kindness: I had rather have
Such men my friends, than enemies. Go on,
And see whe'r Brutus be alive or dead:
And bring us word, unto Octavius' tent,
How every thing is chanc'd.

[Exeunt.

SCENE V. Another Part of the Field. Enter
Brutus, DarDANIUS, CLITUS, STRATO, and
VOLUMNIUS.

Bru. Come, poor remains of friends, rest on this
rock.

Cli. Statilius show'd the torch-light; but, my lord,
He came not back; he is or ta'en, or slain.1
Bru. Sit thee down, Clitus: Slaying is the word;
t is a deed in fashion. Hark thee, Člitus.

[Whispering.
Cli. What, I, my lord? No, not for all the world.
Bru. Peace, then, no words.
Cli.

Bru. Hark thee, Dardanius!
Dar.

Cli. O, Dardanius!

Dar. O, Clitus!

I'll rather kill myself.

[Whispers him.

I do such a deed?

Cli. What ill request did Brutus make to thee?
Dar. To kill him, Clitus: Look, he meditates.
Cli. Now is that noble vessel full of grief,

That it runs over even at his eyes.

Bru. Come hither, good Volumnius: list a word.
Vol. What says my lord?
Bru.

Why, this, Volumnius:
The ghost of Caesar hath appear'd to me
Two several times by night at Sardis, once;
And, this last night, here in Philippi's fields.
I know, my hour is come.
Vol.

Not so, my lord.
Bru. Nay, I am sure it is, Volumnius.
Thou seest the world, Voluminius, how it goes;
Our enemies have beat us to the pit :
It is more worthy to leap in ourselves,
Than tarry till they push us. Good Volumnius,
Thou know'st that we two went to school together;
Even for that our love of old, I pray thee,
Hold thou my sword-hilts, whilst I run on it.
Vol. That's not an office for a friend, my lord.
[Alarum still.
Cli. Fly, fly, my lord; there is no tarrying here.
Bru. Farewell to you ;-and you;-and you,

Volumnius.

2

Strato, thou hast been all this while asleep,
Farewell to thee, too, Strato.-Countrymen,
My heart doth joy, that yet, in all my life,
I found no man, but he was true to me.
I shall have glory by this losing day,
More than Octavius, and Mark Antony,
By this vile conquest shall attain unto.
So, fare you well at once; for Brutus' tongue
Hath almost ended his life's history:
Night hangs upon mine eyes; my bones would rest,
That have but labour'd to attain this hour.
[Alarum. Cry within; Fly, fly, fly

Cli. Fly, my lord, fly.
Bru.

Hence; I will follow.
[Exeunt CLITUS, DARDANIUS, and Vo

LUMNIUS.

I pr'ythee, Strato, stay thou by thy lord:
Thou art a fellow of a good respect;
Thy life hath had some smatch of honour in it.
Hold then my sword, and turn away thy face,
While I do run upon it. Wilt thou, Strato?
Stra. Give me your hand first: Fare
my lord.

you well, Bru. Farewell, good Strato.-Cæsar, now be still:

I kill'd not thee with half so good a will.

[He runs on his Sword and dies.
Alarum. Retreat. Enter OCTAVIUS, ANTONY,
MESSALA, LUCILIUS, and their Army.
Oct. What man is that?

Mes. My master's man.-Strato, where is hy
master?

The

Stra. Free from the bondage you are in, Meszala;
conquerors can but make a fire of him;
For Brutus only overcame himself,
And no man else hath honour by his death.

Luc. So Brutus should be found.-I thank thee,
Brutus,

That thou hast prov'd Lucilius' saying true.

Oct. All that serv'd Brutus, I will entertain
them. 3

Fellow, wilt thou bestow thy time with me?
Stra. Ay, if Messala will prefer4 me to you.
Oct. Do so, good Messala.
Mes.

How died my master, Strato?
Strat. I held the sword, and he did run on it.
Mes. Octavius, then take him to follow thee,
That did the latest service to my master.

Ant. This was the noblest Roman of them all:

All the conspirators, save only he,
Did that they did in envy of great Cæsar;
He, only, in a general honest thought,
And common good to all, made one of them.
His life was gentle; and the elements
So mix'd in him, that Nature might stand
And say to all the world, This was a man !5

up,

my fortune, but only for my countries sake: for as for me, I thinke myselfe happier than they that have overcome, considering that I leave a perpetual fame of our corage and manhoode, the which our enemies the con querors shall never attaine unto by force nor money, neither can let their posteritie to say, that they have beene naughtie and unjust men, have slaine good men to usurpe tyrannical power not pertaining to them Having sayd so, he prayd every man to shift for them. selves, and then he went a little aside,' &c.

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1 A passage from Plutarch will illustrate this scene: - Furthermore, Brutus thought that there was no great number of men slaine in battell, and to know the truth of it there was one called Statilius, that promised to goe through his enemies, (for otherwise it was impossible to goe see their campe,) and from thence, if all were well, that he would lift up a torche-light in the aire, and then returne againe with speed to him. The torche-light was lift up as he had promised, for Statilius went thither. Nowe Brutus seeing Statilius tarie long after, and that he came not againe, he sayd: If Statilius be alive, he will come againe. But his evil fortune was suche that, as he came backe, he lighted in his enemies" hands, and was slaine. Now the night being farre spent, Brutus, 2 Hilts is frequently used where only one weapon is as he sate, bowed towards Clitus, one of his men, and spoken of. Cassius says to Pindarus, in a former scene told him somewhat in his eare ; the other aunswered him Here, take thou the hilts. And, King Richard III. : not, but fell a weeping. Thereupon he proved Darda-Take him over the costard with the hilts of thy sword ' ius, and sayd somewhat also to him: at length he So in the Mirror for Magistrates, 1587 :came to Volumnius him selfe, and speaking to him in "A naked sword he had, Greeke, prayed him for the studies sake which brought hem acquainted together, that he would helpe him to put his hande to his sword, to thrust it in him to kill him. Volumnius denied his request, and so did many thers and amongest the rest one of them said there was no tarrying for them there, but that they must éedes flie. Then Brutus rising up, We must, flie in lecde, sayd he; but it must be with our hands, not with ur feete. Then taking every man by the hand, he sayd these words unto them with a chearful counteaance-It rejoyceth my hart that no one of my friends hath failed me at my neede, and I do not complayne of

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That to the hilts was all with blood imbrued.' 3 i. e. receive them into my service.

4 To prefer seems to have been the general term for recommending a servant. Thus in The Merchant of Venice, Act iii. Sc. 2 :

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Its

'Shylock thy master, spoke with ine this day, And hath preferr'd thee.'

usual sense was 'to advance, or set before others
5 Drayton, in his Barons' Wars, has a similar pas
sage, thus given by Steevens

'He was a man (then boldy dare to say)
In whose rich soul the virtues well did suit

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