SCENE IV.
Manet Antony.
Ant.
O pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth!
That I am meek and gentle with these butchers.
Thou art the ruins of the noblest man,
That ever lived 6 notein the tide of times.
Woe to the hand, that shed this costly blood!
-- 56 --
Over thy wounds now do I prophesy,
Which, like dumb mouths, do ope their ruby lips,
To beg the voice and utterance of my tongue,
A curse shall light 7 note
upon the limbs of men;
Domestick fury, and fierce civil strife,
Shall cumber all the parts of Italy;
Blood and destruction shall be so in use,
And dreadful objects so familiar,
That mothers shall but smile, when they behold
Their infants quarter'd with the hands of war:
All pity choak'd with custom of fell deeds;
And Cæsar's spirit, ranging for revenge,
With Até by his side come hot from hell,
Shall in these confines, with a Monarch's voice,
8 note
Cry Havock, and let slip the Dogs of war;
That this foul deed shall smell above the earth
With carrion men, groaning for burial.
-- 57 --
Enter Octavius's Servant.
You serve Octavius Cæsar, 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—
O 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 a while;
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 Cæsar's body.
Samuel Johnson [1765], The plays of William Shakespeare, in eight volumes, with the corrections and illustrations of Various Commentators; To which are added notes by Sam. Johnson (Printed for J. and R. Tonson [and] C. Corbet [etc.], London) [word count] [S11001].
