Introductory matter

1 ^note.

DRAMATIS PERSONÆ Julius Cæsar. [Julius Caesar] Octavius Cæsar [Octavius Caesar], triumvir after the death of Julius Cæsar. Marcus Antonius, triumvir after the death of Julius Cæsar. M. Æmil. Lepidus, triumvir after the death of Julius Cæsar. Cicero, senator. Publius, senator. Popilius Lena, senator. Marcus Brutus, conspirator against Julius Cæsar. Cassius, conspirator against Julius Cæsar. Casca, conspirator against Julius Cæsar. Trebonius, conspirator against Julius Cæsar. Ligarius, conspirator against Julius Cæsar. Decius^{2 note} Brutus, conspirator against Julius Cæsar. Metellus Cimber, conspirator against Julius Cæsar. Cinna, conspirator against Julius Cæsar. Flavius, tribune. Marullus, tribune. Artemidorus of Cnidos, a teacher of Rhetoric^{3 note}. A Soothsayer. Cinna, [Poet 1] a poet. Another Poet [Poet 2]. Lucilius, friend to Brutus and Cassius. Titinius, friend to Brutus and Cassius. Messala, friend to Brutus and Cassius. Young Cato [Young Cato], friend to Brutus and Cassius . Volumnius, friend to Brutus and Cassius. Varro, servant to Brutus. Clitus, servant to Brutus. Claudius, servant to Brutus. Strato, servant to Brutus. Lucius, servant to Brutus. Dardanius, servant to Brutus. Pindarus, servant to Cassius. Calpurnia^{4 note} [Calphurnia], wife to Cæsar. Portia, wife to Brutus. Senators, Citizens, Guards, Attendants, &c. [Plebian 1], [Plebian 2], [Servant], [Citizen 1], [Citizen 2], [Citizen 3], [Citizen 4], [Citizens], [Soldier 1], [Soldier 2], [Soldier 3], [Messenger], [Ghost] Scene: Rome; the neighbourhood of Sardis; the neighbourhood of Philippi.

THE TRAGEDY OF JULIUS CÆSAR. ACT I. ^note Scene I. [Footnote: Rome. A street. ^note Enter ^note Flavius, Marullus, ^note and certain Commoners. ^note

Flav.
Hence! home, you idle creatures, get you home:
Is this a holiday? what! know you not,
Being mechanical, you ought not walk
Upon a labouring day without the sign
Of your profession? Speak, what trade art thou?

First Com. ^note
Why, sir, a carpenter.

Mar.
Where is thy leather apron and thy rule?
What dost thou with thy best apparel on?
You, sir, what trade are you?

Sec. Com. ^note

Truly, sir, in respect of a fine workman, I am but, as you ^note would say, a cobbler.

Mar.

But what trade art thou? answer me directly.

Sec. Com. ^note

A trade, sir, that, I hope, I may use with a safe conscience; which is indeed, sir, a mender of bad soles ^note.

Mar. ^note

What trade, thou knave? thou naughty knave, what trade?

Sec. Com. ^note

Nay, I beseech you, sir, be not out with me: yet, if you be ^note out, sir, I can mend you.

Mar. ^note

What mean'st thou ^note by that? mend me, thou saucy fellow!

Sec. Com.

Why, sir, cobble you.

Flav.

Thou art a cobbler, art thou?

Sec. Com.

Truly, sir, all that I live by is with ^note the awl: I meddle with no tradesman's ^note matters, nor women's ^note matters, but with awl. I ^note am indeed, sir, a surgeon to old shoes; when they are in great danger, I re-cover ^note them. As proper men as ever trod upon neats-leather have gone upon my handiwork.

Flav.
But wherefore art not in thy shop to-day?
Why dost thou lead these men about the streets? ^note

Sec. Com.

Truly, sir, to wear out their shoes, to get myself into more work. But indeed, sir, we make holiday, to see Cæsar and to rejoice in his triumph.

Mar.
Wherefore rejoice? What conquest ^note brings he home? ^note
What tributaries follow him to Rome,
To grace in captive bonds his chariot-wheels?
You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things!
O you hard hearts, you cruel men of Rome,
Knew you not Pompey? Many a time and oft

Have ^note you climb'd up to walls and battlements,
To towers and windows, ^note yea, to chimney-tops,
Your infants in your arms, and there have sat
The live-long day with patient expectation
To see great Pompey pass the streets of Rome: ^note
And when you saw his chariot but appear,
Have you not made an universal shout,
That Tiber trembled underneath her ^note banks
To hear the replication of your sounds
Made in her ^note concave shores ^note?
And do you now put on your best attire?
And do you now cull out a ^note holiday?
And do you now strew flowers in his way
That comes ^note in triumph over Pompey's blood?
Be gone! ^note
Run to your houses, fall upon your knees,
Pray to the gods to intermit the plague
That needs must light on this ingratitude.

Flav.
Go, go, good countrymen, and, for this ^note fault,
Assemble all the poor men of your sort;
Draw them to Tiber banks ^note and weep your tears
Into the channel, till the lowest stream
Do kiss the most exalted shores of all. [Exeunt ^note all the Commoners.
See, whether ^note their basest metal ^note be not moved;
They vanish ^note tongue-tied in their guiltiness.
Go you down that way towards the Capitol;
This way will I: disrobe the images,
If you do find them deck'd with ceremonies ^note.

Mar.
May we do so?
You know it is the feast of Lupercal ^note.

Flav.
It is ^note no matter; let no ^note images
Be hung with ^note Cæsar's trophies. I'll about,
And drive away the vulgar from the streets:
So do you too, where you perceive them thick.
These growing feathers pluck'd from Cæsar's wing
Will make him fly an ordinary pitch,
Who else would soar above the view of men
And keep us all in servile fearfulness. [Exeunt. ^{note note} Scene II. [Footnote: A public place. ^note Flourish. Enter ^note Cæsar; Antony, for the course; Calpurnia, Portia, Decius, Cicero, Brutus, Cassius, and Casca; a great crowd following, among them a Soothsayer.

Cæs.
Calpurnia ^note!

Casca.
Peace, ho! Cæsar speaks. [Music ceases. ^note

Cæs.
Calpurnia!

Cal.
Here, my lord.

Cæs.
Stand you directly in Antonius' ^note way,
When he doth run his course. Antonius ^note!

Ant.
Cæsar, ^note my lord?

Cæs.
Forget not, in your speed, Antonius ^note,
To touch Calpurnia ^note; for our elders say,
The barren, touched in this holy chase,
Shake off their sterile curse ^note.

Ant.
I shall remember:
When Cæsar says ‘do this,’ it is perform'd.

Cæs.
Set on, and leave no ceremony out. [Flourish. ^note

Sooth.
Cæsar!

Cæs.
Ha! who calls? ^note

Casca.
Bid every noise be still: peace yet again! ^note

Cæs.
Who is it in the press that calls on me?
I hear a tongue, shriller than all the music,
Cry ‘Cæsar.’ Speak; Cæsar is turn'd to hear.

Sooth.
Beware the ides of March.

Cæs.
What man is that?

Bru.
A soothsayer bids ^note you ^note beware the ides of March.

Cæs.
Set him before me; let me see his face.

Cas. ^note
Fellow, come from the throng; look upon Cæsar.

Cæs.
What say'st thou to me now? speak once again.

Sooth.
Beware the ides of March.

Cæs.
He is a dreamer; let us leave him: pass. [Sennet. ^note Exeunt ^note all but Brutus and Cassius. ^note

Cas.
Will you go see the order of the course?

Bru.
Not I.

Cas.
I pray you, do.

Bru.
I am not gamesome: I do lack some part
Of that quick spirit that is in Antony.
Let me not hinder, Cassius, your desires;
I'll leave you ^note.

Cas.
Brutus, I do observe you now ^note of late:
I have not from your eyes that gentleness
And show of love as I was wont to have:
You bear too stubborn and too strange a hand
Over your friend that loves ^note you.

Bru.
Cassius,
Be not deceived: if I have veil'd ^note my look,
I turn the trouble of my countenance
Merely upon myself. Vexed I am
Of late with passions of some difference,
Conceptions only proper to myself,
Which give some soil perhaps to my behaviours ^note;
But let not therefore my good friends be grieved—
Among which number, Cassius, be you one—
Nor construe any further ^note my neglect
Than that poor Brutus with himself at war
Forgets the shows of love to other men.

Cas.
Then, Brutus, I have much mistook ^note your passion;
By means whereof this breast of mine hath buried
Thoughts of great value, worthy cogitations.
Tell me, good Brutus, can you see your face ^note?

Bru.
No, Cassius; for the eye sees not itself ^note
But by reflection, by some ^note other things ^{note note}.

Cas.
'Tis just: ^note
And it is very much lamented, Brutus,
That you have no such mirrors ^note as will turn
Your hidden worthiness into your eye,
That you might see your shadow. I have heard ^note
Where many of the best respect in Rome,
Except immortal Cæsar, speaking of Brutus,
And groaning underneath this age's yoke,
Have wish'd that noble Brutus had his eyes.

Bru.
Into what dangers would you lead me, Cassius ^note,
That you would have me seek into myself

For that which is not in me?

Cas.
Therefore ^note, good Brutus, be prepared to hear:
And since you know you cannot see yourself
So well as by reflection, I your glass
Will modestly discover to yourself
That of yourself which you yet ^note know not of.
And be not jealous on ^note me, gentle Brutus:
Were ^note I a common laugher ^note, or did use
To stale with ordinary oaths my love
To every new protester; if you know
That I do fawn on men and hug them hard,
And after scandal them; or if you know
That I profess myself ^note in banqueting
To all the rout, then hold me dangerous. [Flourish and shout.

Bru.
What means this shouting? I do fear, the people
Choose Cæsar for their king ^note.

Cas.
Ay, do you fear it?
Then must I think you would not have it so.

Bru.
I would not, Cassius, yet I love him well.
But wherefore do you hold me here so long?
What is it that you would impart to me?
If it be aught toward the general good,
Set honour in one eye and death i' the other,
And I will look on both ^note indifferently,
For let the gods so speed me as I love
The name of honour more than I fear death.

Cas.
I know that virtue to be in you, Brutus,
As well as I do know your outward favour.
Well, honour is the subject of my story.
I cannot tell what you and other men
Think of this life, but, for ^note my single self,

I had as lief not be as live to be
In awe of such a thing as I myself.
I was born free as Cæsar; so were you:
We both have fed as well, and we can both
Endure the winter's cold as well as he:
For once, upon a raw and gusty day,
The troubled Tiber chafing ^note with her ^note shores,
Cæsar said ^note to me ‘Darest thou, Cassius, now
Leap in with me into this angry flood,
And swim to yonder point?’ Upon the word,
Accoutred ^note as I was, I plunged in
And bade ^note him follow: so indeed he did.
The torrent roar'd, and we ^note did buffet it
With lusty sinews, throwing it aside
And stemming it with hearts of controversy; ^note
But ere we could arrive the point proposed,
Cæsar cried ‘Help me, Cassius, or I sink!’
I ^note, as Æneas our great ancestor
Did from the flames of Troy upon his shoulder
The old Anchises bear ^note, so from the waves of Tiber ^note
Did I the tired Cæsar: and this man
Is now become a god, and Cassius is
A wretched creature, and must bend his body
If Cæsar carelessly but nod on him.
He had a fever ^note when he was in Spain,
And when the fit was on him, I did mark
How he did shake: 'tis true, this god did shake;
His coward lips did from their colour fly,
And that same eye whose bend doth awe the world
Did lose his ^note lustre: I did hear him groan:
Ay, and that tongue of his that bade the Romans

Mark him and write ^note his speeches in their books,
Alas ^note, it cried, ‘Give me some drink, Titinius,’
As a sick girl. Ye gods! it doth amaze me
A man of such a feeble temper should
So get the start of the majestic world
And bear the palm alone. [Shout. Flourish. ^note

Bru.
Another general ^note shout!
I do believe that these applauses are
For some new honours that are heap'd on Cæsar.

Cas.
Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world
Like a Colossus, and we petty men
Walk under his huge legs and peep about
To find ourselves dishonourable graves.
Men at some time ^note are masters of their fates:
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings.
Brutus, and Cæsar: what should be in that ^note Cæsar?
Why should that name be sounded more than yours?
Write them together, yours is ^note as fair a name;
Sound them, it doth become the mouth as well;
Weigh them, it is as heavy; conjure with 'em ^note, ^note
Brutus will start a spirit ^note as soon as Cæsar.
Now, in the names of all the gods at once,
Upon what meat doth this our Cæsar feed,
That he is grown so great? Age, thou art shamed!
Rome, thou hast lost the breed of noble bloods!
When went there by an age, since the great flood,
But it was famed with more than with one man?
When could they say till now that talk'd of Rome
That her wide walls ^note encompass'd but one man?

Now is it Rome indeed, and room enough,
When there is in it but one only man. ^note
O, you and I have heard our fathers say
There was a Brutus once that would have brook'd
The eternal ^note devil to keep his state in Rome
As easily as a king.

Bru.
That you do love me, I am nothing jealous; ^note
What you would work me to, I have some aim ^note:
How I have thought ^note of this and of these times,
I shall recount hereafter; for this present,
I would not, so with love I might entreat you, ^note
Be any further ^note moved. What you have said
I will consider; what you have to say
I will with patience hear, and find a time ^note
Both meet to hear and answer such high things.
Till then, my noble friend, chew upon this:
Brutus had rather be a villager
Than to repute himself a son of Rome
Under these ^note hard conditions as ^note this time
Is like to lay upon us.

Cas.
I am glad that my weak words ^note
Have struck but thus much show of fire from Brutus. ^{note note}

Bru.
The games are done, and Cæsar is returning.

Cas.
As they pass by, pluck Casca by the sleeve; ^note
And he will, after his sour fashion, tell you
What hath proceeded worthy note to-day. Re-enter ^note Cæsar and his Train.

Bru.
I will do so: but, look you, Cassius,

The angry spot doth glow ^note on Cæsar's brow,
And all the rest look like a chidden train:
Calpurnia's cheek is pale, and Cicero
Looks with such ferret and such fiery eyes
As we have seen him in the Capitol,
Being cross'd in conference by ^note some senators ^note.

Cas.
Casca will tell us what the matter is.

Cæs.
Antonius ^note!

Ant.
Cæsar? ^note

Cæs.
Let me have men about me that are fat,
Sleek-headed men, and such as sleep o' nights ^note:
Yond ^note Cassius has a lean and hungry look;
He thinks too much: such men are dangerous.

Ant.
Fear him not, Cæsar; he's not dangerous;
He is a noble Roman, and well given.

Cæs.
Would he were fatter! but I fear him ^note not:
Yet if my name were liable to fear,
I do not know the man I should avoid
So soon as that spare Cassius. He reads much;
He is a great observer, and he looks
Quite through the deeds of men: he loves no plays,
As thou dost, Antony; he hears no music:
Seldom he smiles, and smiles in such a sort
As if he mock'd himself and scorn'd his spirit
That could be moved to smile at any thing.
Such men as he be ^note never at heart's ease
Whiles ^note they behold a greater than themselves,
And therefore are they very dangerous.
I rather tell thee what is to be fear'd
Than what I fear; for always I am Cæsar.
Come on my right hand, for this ear is deaf,

And tell me truly what thou think'st of him. [Sennet. Exeunt ^note Cæsar and all his Train but Casca. ^note

Casca.
You pull'd me by the cloak; would you speak with me?

Bru.
Ay, Casca; tell us what hath chanced to-day,
That Cæsar looks so sad.

Casca.
Why, you were with him, were you not? ^note

Bru.
I should not then ask Casca what had chanced.

Casca.

Why, there was a crown offered him: and being offered him, he put it by with the back of his hand, thus: and then the people fell a-shouting ^note.

Bru.

What was the second noise for?

Casca.

Why ^note, for that too.

Cas.

They shouted thrice: what was the last cry for?

Casca.

Why ^note, for that too.

Bru.

Was the crown offered him ^note thrice?

Casca.

Ay, marry, was't, and he put it by thrice, every time gentler than other; and at every putting by mine honest neighbours shouted.

Cas.

Who offered him the crown?

Casca.

Why, Antony.

Bru.

Tell us the manner of it, gentle Casca.

Casca.

I can as well be hang'd as tell the manner of it: it was ^note mere foolery; I did not mark it. I saw Mark Antony offer him a crown: yet 'twas not a crown neither, 'twas one of these coronets: and, as I told you, he put it by once: but for all that, to my thinking, he would fain have had it. Then he offered it to him again; then he put it by again: but, to my thinking, he was very loath to lay his fingers off it. And then he offered it the third time; he put it the third time by: and still as he refused it, the rabblement hooted ^note

and clapped their chopped ^note hands and threw up their sweaty night-caps and uttered such a deal of stinking breath because Cæsar refused the crown, that it had almost choked Cæsar; for he swounded ^note and fell down at it: and for mine own part, I durst not laugh, for fear of opening my lips and receiving the bad air.

Cas.

But, soft, I pray you: what, did Cæsar swound ^note?

Casca.

He fell down in the market-place and foamed at mouth and was speechless.

Bru.
'Tis very like: he ^note hath the falling-sickness.

Cas.
No, Cæsar hath it not; but you, and I,
And honest Casca, we have the falling-sickness.

Casca.

I know not what you mean by that, but I am sure Cæsar fell down. If the tag-rag people did not clap him and hiss him according as he pleased and displeased them, as they use ^note to do the players in the theatre, I am no true man.

Bru.

What said he when he came unto himself?

Casca.

Marry, before he fell down, when he perceived the common herd was glad he refused the crown, he plucked me ope his doublet and offered them his throat to cut. An ^note I had been a man of any occupation, if I would not have taken him at a word ^note, I would I might go to hell among the rogues. And so he fell. When he came to himself again, he said, if he had done or said any thing amiss, he desired their worships to think it was his infirmity. Three or four wenches, where I stood, cried ‘Alas, good soul!’ and forgave him with all their hearts: but there's no ^note heed to be taken of them; if Cæsar had stabbed ^note their mothers, they would have done no less.

Bru.

And after that, he came, thus sad, away? ^note

Casca.

Ay.

Cas.

Did Cicero say any thing?

Casca.

Ay, he spoke Greek.

Cas.

To what effect?

Casca.

Nay, an ^note I tell you that, I'll ne'er look you i' the face again: but those that understood him smiled at one another and shook their heads; but for mine own part, it was Greek to me. I could tell you more news too:Marullus ^note and Flavius, for pulling scarfs off Cæsar's images, are put to silence. Fare you well. There was more foolery yet, if I could remember it.

Cas.

Will you sup with me to-night, Casca?

Casca.

No, I am promised forth.

Cas.

Will you dine with me to-morrow?

Casca.

Ay, if I be alive, and your mind ^note hold, and your dinner worth ^note the eating.

Cas.
Good; I will expect you.

Casca.
Do so: farewell, both. [Exit.

Bru.
What a blunt fellow is this grown to be!
He was quick mettle ^note when he went to school.

Cas.
So is he now in execution
Of any bold or noble enterprise,
However he puts on this tardy form.
This rudeness is a sauce to his good wit,
Which gives men stomach to digest ^note his words
With better appetite ^note.

Bru.
And so it is. For this time ^note I will leave you ^{note note}:
To-morrow, if you ^note please to speak with ^note me,
I will come ^note home to you, or, if you will,

Come home to ^note me and I will wait for you.

Cas.
I will do so: till then, think of the world. [Exit Brutus.
Well, Brutus, thou art noble; yet ^note, I see,
Thy honourable metal ^note may be wrought
From that ^note it is disposed ^note: therefore ^note it is ^note meet
That noble minds keep ever with their likes;
For who so firm that cannot be seduced?
Cæsar doth bear me hard; but he loves Brutus:
If I were Brutus now and he were Cassius,
He should not humour ^note me. I will this night,
In several hands, in at his windows throw,
As if they came from several citizens,
Writings, all tending to the great opinion
That Rome holds of his name, wherein obscurely
Cæsar's ambition shall be glanced at:
And after this let Cæsar seat him sure;
For we will shake him, or worse days endure. [Exit. ^note Scene III. [Footnote: A street. ^note Thunder and lightning. Enter ^note, from opposite sides, Casca, with his sword drawn, and Cicero.

Cic.
Good even, Casca: brought you Cæsar home?
Why are you breathless? and why stare you so?

Casca.
Are not you moved, when all the sway of earth
Shakes like a thing unfirm? O Cicero,
I have seen tempests, when the scolding winds
Have rived the knotty oaks, and I have seen
The ambitious ocean swell and rage and foam,
To be exalted with the threatening clouds;
But never till to-night, never till now,
Did I go through a tempest dropping fire ^note.
Either there is a civil strife in heaven,
Or else the world too saucy with the gods
Incenses them to send destruction.

Cic.
Why, saw you any thing more wonderful?

Casca.
A common slave—you know ^note him well by sight—
Held up his left hand, which did flame and burn
Like twenty torches join'd, and yet his hand
Not sensible of fire remain'd unscorch'd.
Besides—I ha' ^note not since put up my sword—
Against the Capitol I met a lion,
Who glared ^note upon me and went surly ^note by
Without annoying me: and there were drawn
Upon ^note a heap a hundred ghastly women
Transformed with their fear, who swore they saw
Men all in fire walk up and down the streets.
And yesterday the bird of night did sit
Even at noon-day upon the market-place,
Hooting ^note and shrieking. When these prodigies
Do so conjointly meet, let not men say
‘These are their reasons ^note: they are natural:’
For, I believe, they are portentous things
Unto the climate that they point upon.

Cic.
Indeed, it is a strange-disposed ^note time:
But men may construe things after their fashion,

Clean from the purpose of the things themselves.
Comes Cæsar to ^note the Capitol to-morrow?

Casca.
He doth; for he did bid Antonius ^note
Send word to you he would be there to-morrow.

Cic.
Good night then, Casca: this disturbed sky
Is not to walk in. ^note

Casca.
Farewell, Cicero. [Exit Cicero. ^noteEnter Cassius.

Cas.
Who's there?

Casca.
A Roman.

Cas.
Casca, by your voice.

Casca.
Your ear is good. Cassius, what night ^note is this! ^{note note}

Cas.
A very pleasing night to honest men.

Casca.
Who ever knew the heavens ^note menace so?

Cas.
Those that have known the earth so full of faults.
For my part, I have walk'd about the streets,
Submitting me unto the perilous night,
And thus unbraced, Casca, as you see,
Have bared my bosom to the thunder-stone;
And when the cross blue lightning seem'd to open
The breast of heaven, I did present myself
Even in the aim and very flash of it.

Casca.
But wherefore did you so much tempt the heavens?
It is the part of men to fear and tremble
When the most mighty gods by tokens send
Such dreadful heralds to astonish us.

Cas.
You are dull, Casca, and those sparks of life
That ^note should be in a Roman you do want,
Or else you use not. You look pale and gaze

And put on fear and cast ^note yourself in wonder, ^note
To see the strange impatience of the heavens:
But if you would consider the true cause
Why all these fires, why all these gliding ghosts,
Why birds and beasts from quality and kind, ^note
Why old men fool and ^note children calculate,
Why all these things change, from their ordinance,
Their natures and preformed faculties,
To monstrous quality, why, you shall find
That heaven ^note hath ^note infused them with these spirits
To make them instruments of fear and warning
Unto some monstrous state.
Now could I, Casca, name to ^note thee a man
Most like this dreadful night, ^note
That thunders, lightens, opens graves, and roars ^note
As doth the lion in ^note the Capitol,
A man no mightier than thyself or me
In personal action, yet prodigious grown
And fearful, as these strange ^note eruptions are.

Casca.
'Tis Cæsar that you mean; is it not, Cassius? ^note

Cas.
Let it be who it is: for Romans now
Have thews ^note and limbs like to their ancestors;
But, woe the while! our fathers' minds are dead
And we are govern'd with our mothers' spirits;
Our yoke and sufferance show us womanish.

Casca.
Indeed they say ^note the senators to-morrow
Mean to establish Cæsar as a king;
And he shall wear his crown by sea and land,

In every place save here in Italy.

Cas.
I know where I will wear this dagger then ^note:
Cassius from bondage will deliver Cassius.
Therein, ye gods, you make the weak most strong;
Therein, ye gods, you tyrants do defeat:
Nor stony tower, nor walls of beaten brass,
Nor airless dungeon, nor strong links of iron,
Can be retentive to the strength of spirit;
But life, being weary of these worldly bars,
Never lacks power to dismiss itself.
If I know this, know all the world besides,
That part of tyranny that I do bear
I can shake off at pleasure. [Thunder still. ^note

Casca.
So can I:
So every bondman in his own hand bears
The power to cancel his captivity.

Cas.
And why should Cæsar be a tyrant then?
Poor man! I know he would not be a wolf
But that he sees the Romans are but sheep:
He were no lion were not Romans hinds.
Those that with haste will make a mighty fire
Begin it with weak straws: what trash is Rome,
What rubbish and what offal, when it serves
For the base matter to illuminate
So vile a thing as Cæsar! But, O grief,
Where hast thou led me? I perhaps speak this
Before a willing bondman; then I know
My answer must be made. But I am arm'd,
And dangers are to me indifferent.

Casca.
You speak to Casca, and to such a man
That is no fleering tell-tale. Hold, my ^note hand:
Be factious for redress of all these griefs,
And I will set this foot of mine as far
As who goes farthest.

Cas.
There's a bargain made.
Now know you, Casca, I have moved already

Some certain of the noblest-minded ^note Romans
To undergo with me an enterprise
Of honourable-dangerous ^note consequence;
And I do know, by this they ^note stay for me
In Pompey's porch: for now, this fearful night,
There is no stir or walking in the streets,
And the complexion of the element ^note
In favour's like ^note the work we have in hand,
Most bloody, fiery ^note, and most terrible. Enter Cinna. ^{note note}

Casca.
Stand close awhile, for here comes one in haste.

Cas.
'Tis Cinna; I do know him by his gait ^note;
He is a friend. Cinna, where haste you so?

Cin.
To find out you. Who's that? Metellus Cimber?

Cas.
No, it is Casca; one incorporate
To our attempts ^note. Am I not stay'd for, Cinna?

Cin.
I am ^note glad on't. What a fearful night is this! ^{note note}
There's two or three of us have seen strange sights.

Cas.
Am I not stay'd for? ^note tell me.

Cin.
Yes, you are.
O Cassius, if you could
But win ^note the noble Brutus to our party— ^note

Cas.
Be you content: good Cinna, take this paper,
And look you lay it in the prætor's chair,
Where Brutus may but ^note find it, and throw this
In at his window; set this up with wax
Upon old Brutus' ^note statue: all this done,
Repair to Pompey's porch, where you shall find us.
Is Decius ^note Brutus and Trebonius there?

Cin.
All but Metellus Cimber; and he's gone
To seek you at your house. Well, I will hie,
And so bestow these papers as you bade ^note me.

Cas.
That done, repair to Pompey's theatre. [Exit Cinna.
Come, Casca, you and I will yet ere day
See Brutus at his house: three parts of him
Is ^note ours already, and the man entire
Upon the next encounter yields him ours.

Casca.
O, he sits high in all the people's hearts;
And that which would appear offence in us
His countenance, like richest alchemy,
Will change to virtue and to worthiness.

Cas.
Him and his worth and our great need of him
You have right well conceited. Let us go,
For it is after midnight, and ere day
We will awake him and be sure of him. [Exeunt.

ACT II. ^note Scene I. [Footnote: Rome. Brutus's orchard. Enter Brutus. ^note

Bru.
What, Lucius, ho!
I cannot, by the progress of the stars,
Give guess how near to day. Lucius, I say!
I would it were my fault to sleep so soundly.
When, Lucius, when? ^note awake, I say! what, Lucius! Enter Lucius.

Luc.
Call'd you, my lord?

Bru.
Get me a taper in my study, Lucius:
When it is lighted, come and call me here.

Luc.
I will, my lord. [Exit.

Bru.
It must be by his death: and, for my part,
I know no personal cause to spurn at him,
But for the general. He would be crown'd:
How that might change his nature, there's the question:
It is the bright day that brings forth the adder;
And that craves wary walking. Crown him?—that;— ^note
And then, I grant, we put a sting in him,
That at his will he may do danger with.
The abuse of greatness is when it disjoins
Remorse from power: and, to speak truth of Cæsar,
I have not known when his affections sway'd
More than his reason. But 'tis a common proof,
That lowliness is young ambition's ladder,
Whereto the climber-upward ^note turns his face;

But when he once attains the upmost ^note round,
He then unto the ladder turns his back,
Looks in the clouds, scorning the base degrees
By which he did ascend: so Cæsar may;
Then, lest ^note he may ^note, prevent. And, since the quarrel
Will bear no colour for the thing he is,
Fashion it thus; that what he is, augmented,
Would run to these and these extremities:
And therefore think him as a serpent's egg
Which hatch'd would as his kind grow mischievous,
And kill him in the shell. Re-enter ^note Lucius.

Luc.
The taper burneth in your closet, sir.
Searching the window for a flint I found
This paper thus seal'd up, and I am sure
It did not lie there when I went to bed. [Gives ^note him the letter.

Bru.
Get you to bed again; it is not day.
Is not to-morrow, boy, the ides ^note of March?

Luc.
I know not, sir.

Bru.
Look in the calendar and bring me word.

Luc.
I will, sir. [Exit.

Bru.
The exhalations whizzing in the air
Give so much light that I may read by them. [Opens the letter and reads.
‘Brutus, thou sleep'st: awake and see thyself.
Shall Rome, &c. ^note Speak, strike, redress.
Brutus, thou sleep'st: awake.’
Such instigations have been often dropp'd
Where I have took ^note them up.
‘Shall Rome, &c. ^note’ Thus must I piece it out:
Shall Rome stand under one man's awe? What, Rome? ^note

My ancestors ^note did from the streets of Rome
The Tarquin drive, when he was call'd a king.
‘Speak, strike, redress.’ Am I entreated ^{note note}
To speak and strike? O Rome, I make thee ^note promise,
If the redress will follow, thou receivest ^note
Thy full petition at the hand of Brutus! Re-enter Lucius.

Luc.
Sir, March is wasted fifteen ^note days. [Knocking within. ^note

Bru.
'Tis good. Go to the gate; somebody knocks. [Exit Lucius. ^note
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 ^note
Are then in council, and the state of man ^note
Like to a little kingdom suffers then
The nature of an insurrection. Re-enter ^note Lucius.

Luc.
Sir, 'tis your brother Cassius at the door,
Who doth desire to see you.

Bru.
Is he alone?

Luc.
No, sir, there are moe ^note with him.

Bru.
Do you know them? ^note

Luc.
No, sir; their hats are pluck'd about their ears,
And half their faces buried in their cloaks ^note,
That by no means I may discover them
By any mark of favour.

Bru.
Let 'em ^note enter. [Exit Lucius.
They are the faction. O conspiracy,
Shamest thou to show thy dangerous brow by night,
When evils are most free? O, then, by day
Where wilt thou find a cavern dark enough
To mask thy monstrous visage? Seek ^note none, conspiracy;
Hide it in ^note smiles and affability:
For if thou path, thy native semblance on, ^note
Not Erebus itself were dim enough
To hide thee from prevention. Enter the conspirators ^note, Cassius, Casca, Decius, Cinna, Metellus Cimber, and Trebonius. ^note

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. ^note
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.

Cas.
This, Decius Brutus.

Bru.
He is welcome too.

Cas.
This, Casca; this, Cinna ^{note note}; and this, Metellus Cimber. ^note

Bru.
They are all welcome ^note.
What watchful cares do interpose themselves ^note
Betwixt your eyes and night?

Cas.
Shall I entreat a word? [They whisper. ^note

Dec.
Here lies the east: doth not the day break here?

Casca.
No.

Cin.
O, pardon, sir, it doth, and yon grey lines
That fret the clouds are messengers of day.

Casca.
You shall confess that you are both deceived.
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 ^note of men,
The sufferance of our souls, the time's abuse,— ^note
If these be motives weak, break off betimes,
And every man hence to his idle bed;
So let high-sighted ^note 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 ^note, countrymen,

What need we any spur but our own cause
To prick us to redress? what other bond
Than secret Romans ^note that have spoke the word,
And will not palter ^note? and what other oath
Than honesty to honesty engaged
That this shall be or we will fall for it? ^note
Swear priests and cowards and men cautelous,
Old feeble carrions and such suffering souls
That ^note welcome wrongs; unto bad causes swear
Such creatures as men doubt: but do not stain ^note
The even virtue of our enterprise,
Nor the insuppressive mettle of our spirits,
To think that or our cause or our performance
Did ^note need an oath; when ^note every drop of blood
That every Roman bears, and nobly bears,
Is guilty of a several bastardy
If he do ^note 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 ruled 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? ^note

Cas.
Decius, well urged: I think it is not meet
Mark Antony, so well beloved 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. ^note
We all stand up against the spirit of Cæsar,
And in the spirit of men ^note there is no blood:
O, that we then could come by Cæsar's spirit ^note,
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 ^note let our hearts, as subtle masters do,
Stir up their servants to an act of rage
And after seem to chide 'em ^note. This shall make ^note
Our purpose necessary and not envious:
Which so appearing to the common eyes,
We shall be call'd purgers ^{note note}, 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 ^note him,

For in ^note the ingrafted love he bears to Cæsar— ^note

Bru.
Alas, good Cassius, do not think of him:
If he love Cæsar, all that he can do
Is to himself, take ^note thought and die for Cæsar:
And that were much he should, for he is given
To sports, to wildness ^note and much company.

Treb.
There is no fear in him; let him not die;
For he will live and laugh at this ^note hereafter. [Clock strikes.

Bru.
Peace! count the clock.

Cas.
The clock hath stricken ^note three.

Treb.
'Tis time to part.

Cas.
But it is doubtful yet
Whether ^note Cæsar will come forth to-day or no;
For he is superstitious grown of late,
Quite from the main ^note opinion he held once
Of fantasy ^note, 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 resolved,
I can o'ersway him; for he loves to hear
That unicorns may be betray'd with trees
And bears with glasses, elephants with holes ^note,
Lions with toils and men with flatterers: ^note
But when I tell him he hates flatterers,
He says he does, being then most flattered.
Let me work ^note;
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 ^note hour: is that the uttermost?

Cin.
Be that the uttermost, and fail not then.

Met.
Caius Ligarius doth bear Cæsar hard ^note,
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 ^note:
He loves me well, and I have given him reasons ^note;
Send him but hither, and I'll fashion him.

Cas.
The morning comes upon 's ^note: we'll leave you, Brutus: ^note
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 untired spirits and formal constancy:
And so, good morrow to you every one. [Exeunt ^note all but Brutus.
Boy! Lucius! Fast asleep! It is no matter;
Enjoy the honey-heavy dew ^note of slumber:
Thou hast no figures nor no fantasies,
Which busy care draws in the brains of men;
Therefore thou sleep'st so sound. ^noteEnter Portia.

Por.
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 ^note morning.

Por.
Nor for yours neither. You've ^note ungently, Brutus,
Stole ^note 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 stared upon me with ungentle looks:
I urged you further ^note; 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 ^note of your hand
Gave sign for me to leave you: so I did,
Fearing to strengthen that impatience
Which seem'd too much enkindled, and withal
Hoping it was but an effect of humour,
Which sometime hath his hour with every man.
It will not let you eat, nor talk, nor sleep,
And, could it work so much upon your shape
As it hath much prevail'd on your condition,
I should not know you, Brutus ^note. Dear my lord,
Make me acquainted with your cause of grief.

Bru.
I am not well in health, and that is all.

Por.
Brutus is wise, and, were he not in health,
He would embrace the means to come by it.

Bru.
Why, so I do: good Portia, go to bed.

Por.
Is Brutus sick, and is it physical
To walk unbraced and suck up the humours
Of the dank ^note morning? What, is Brutus sick,
And will he steal out of his wholesome bed,
To dare the vile contagion of the night
And tempt the rheumy and unpurged air
To add unto his ^note sickness? No, my Brutus;
You have some sick offence within your mind,

Which by the right and virtue of my place ^note
I ought to know of: and, upon my knees,
I charm ^note you, by my once commended beauty,
By all your vows of love and that great vow
Which did incorporate and make us one,
That you unfold to me, yourself, your half,
Why you are heavy, and what men to-night
Have had resort to you; for here have been
Some six or seven, who did hide their faces ^note
Even from darkness.

Bru.
Kneel not, gentle Portia.

Por.
I should not need, if you were gentle Brutus.
Within the ^note bond of marriage, tell me, Brutus,
Is it excepted I should know no secrets
That appertain to you? Am I yourself
But, as it were, in sort or limitation,
To keep with you at meals, comfort ^note your bed,
And talk to you sometimes ^note? Dwell I but in the suburbs
Of your good pleasure? If it be no more,
Portia is Brutus' harlot, not his wife.

Bru.
You are my true and honourable wife,
As dear to me as are the ruddy drops
That visit my sad heart.

Por.
If this were true, then should I know this secret.
I grant I am a woman, but withal
A woman that Lord Brutus took to wife:
I grant I am a woman, but withal
A woman well reputed, Cato's ^note daughter.
Think you I am no stronger than my sex,
Being so father'd and so husbanded?
Tell me your counsels, I will not disclose 'em ^note:
I have made strong proof of my constancy,
Giving myself a voluntary wound

Here in the thigh: can I bear that with patience
And not my husband's secrets ^note?

Bru.
O ye gods,
Render me worthy of this noble wife! [Knocking within. ^note
Hark, hark! one knocks: Portia, go in awhile;
And by and by thy bosom shall partake
The secrets of my heart:
All my engagements I will construe to thee,
All the charactery of my sad brows.
Leave me with haste. [Exit Portia.] Lucius, who's that ^note knocks? Re-enter ^note Lucius with Ligarius.

Luc.
Here is a sick man that would speak with you.

Bru.
Caius Ligarius, that Metellus spake of. ^note
Boy, stand aside. Caius Ligarius! how?

Lig.
Vouchsafe good morrow from a feeble tongue.

Bru.
O, what a time have you chose out, brave Caius,
To wear a kerchief! Would you were not sick!

Lig.
I am not sick, if Brutus have in hand
Any exploit worthy the name of honour.

Bru.
Such an exploit have I in hand, Ligarius,
Had you a ^note healthful ear to hear of it.

Lig.
By all the gods that Romans ^note bow before,
I here discard my sickness! Soul of Rome!
Brave son, derived from honourable loins!
Thou, like an exorcist, hast conjured up
My mortified spirit. Now bid me run,
And I will strive with things impossible,
Yea ^note, get the better of them. What's to do?

Bru.
A piece of work that will make sick men whole. ^note

Lig.
But are not some whole that we must make sick?

Bru.
That must we ^note also. What it is, my Caius,
I shall unfold to thee, as we are going
To ^note whom it must be done.

Lig.
Set on your foot,
And with a heart new-fired I follow you,
To do I know not what: but it sufficeth
That Brutus leads me on.

Bru.
Follow me then. [Exeunt. ^{note note} Scene II. [Footnote: Cæsar's house. ^note Thunder and lightning. Enter Cæsar ^note, in his night-gown ^note.

Cæs.
Nor heaven nor earth have been at peace to-night ^note:
Thrice hath Calpurnia in her sleep cried out,
‘Help, ho! they murder Cæsar!’ Who's within? Enter a Servant.

Serv.
My lord?

Cæs.
Go bid the priests do present sacrifice,
And bring me their opinions of success.

Serv.
I will, my lord. [Exit. Enter Calpurnia.

Cal.
What mean you, Cæsar? think you to walk forth?
You shall not stir out of your house to-day.

Cæs.
Cæsar shall forth: the things that threaten'd ^note me
Ne'er look'd but on my back; when they shall see
The face of Cæsar, they are vanished.

Cal.
Cæsar,I never stood on ceremonies,
Yet now they fright me. There is one within,
Besides the things that we have heard and seen,
Recounts most horrid sights seen by the watch.
A lioness hath whelped in the streets;
And graves have yawn'd, and yielded up their dead;
Fierce fiery warriors fight ^note upon the clouds,
In ranks and squadrons and right form of war,
Which drizzled blood upon the Capitol;
The noise of battle hurtled ^note in the air,
Horses did neigh ^note and dying men did groan,
And ghosts ^note did shriek and squeal about the streets.
O Cæsar! these things are beyond all use,
And I do fear them.

Cæs.
What can be avoided
Whose end is purposed by the mighty gods?
Yet Cæsar shall go forth; for these predictions
Are to the world in general as to Cæsar.

Cal.
When beggars die, there are no comets seen;
The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes.

Cæs.
Cowards die many times before their deaths;
The valiant never taste of death but once.
Of all the wonders that I yet have heard,
It seems to me most strange that men should fear;
Seeing that death, a necessary end,
Will come when it will come. Re-enter ^note Servant.
What say the augurers ^note?

Serv.
They would not have you to stir ^note forth to-day.
Plucking the entrails of an offering forth, ^note
They could not find a heart within the beast.

Cæs.
The gods do this in shame of cowardice:
Cæsar should be a beast without a heart
If he should stay at home to-day for fear.
No, Cæsar shall not: danger knows full well
That Cæsar is more dangerous than he:
We are ^note two lions litter'd in one day,
And I the elder and more terrible:
And Cæsar shall go forth. ^note

Cal.
Alas, my lord,
Your wisdom is consumed in confidence.
Do not go forth to-day: call it my fear
That keeps you in the house and not your own.
We'll send Mark Antony to the senate-house,
And he shall ^note say you are not well to-day:
Let me, upon my knee, prevail in this.

Cæs.
Mark Antony shall say I am not well,
And, for thy humour, I will stay at home. ^note Enter Decius.
Here's Decius Brutus, he shall tell them so.

Dec.
Cæsar, all hail! good morrow, worthy Cæsar:
I come to fetch you to the senate-house.

Cæs.
And you are come in very happy time,
To bear my greeting to the senators
And tell them that I will not come to-day:
Cannot, is false, and that I dare not, falser:
I will not come to-day: tell them so, Decius.

Cal.
Say he is sick.

Cæs.
Shall Cæsar send a lie?

Have I in conquest stretch'd mine arm so far,
To be afeard ^note to tell graybeards the truth?
Decius, go tell them Cæsar will not come.

Dec.
Most mighty Cæsar, let me know some cause,
Lest I be laugh'd at when I tell them so.

Cæs.
The cause is in my will: I will not come;
That is enough to satisfy the senate.
But, for your private satisfaction,
Because I love you, I will let you know.
Calpurnia here, my wife, stays me at home:
She dreamt to-night ^note she saw my statua,
Which like ^note a fountain with an ^note hundred spouts
Did run pure blood, and many lusty Romans
Came smiling and did bathe their hands in it:
And these does she apply ^note for warnings and portents ^note
And ^note evils imminent, and on her knee
Hath begg'd that I will stay at home to-day.

Dec.
This dream is all amiss interpreted;
It was a vision fair and fortunate:
Your statue spouting blood in many pipes,
In which so many smiling Romans bathed,
Signifies that from you great Rome ^note shall suck
Reviving blood, and that great men shall press ^note
For tinctures, stains, relics and cognizance ^note.
This by Calpurnia's dream is signified.

Cæs.
And this way have you well expounded it.

Dec.
I have, when you have heard what I can say:
And know it now: the senate have concluded
To give this day a crown to mighty Cæsar.

If you shall send them word you will not come,
Their minds may change. Besides, it were a mock
Apt to be render'd ^note, for some one to say
‘Break up the senate till another time,
When Cæsar's wife shall meet with better dreams.’
If Cæsar hide himself, shall they not whisper
‘Lo, ^note Cæsar is afraid’?
Pardon me, Cæsar, for my dear dear love
To your proceeding bids me tell you this,
And reason to my love is liable.

Cæs.
How foolish do your fears seem now, Calpurnia!
I am ashamed ^note I did yield to them. ^note
Give me my robe, for I will go. Enter Publius, Brutus, Ligarius, Metellus, Casca, Trebonius, and Cinna. ^{note note}
And look where Publius is come to fetch me.

Pub.
Good morrow, Cæsar.

Cæs.
Welcome, Publius.
What, Brutus, are you stirr'd so early too?
Good morrow, Casca. Caius ^note Ligarius,
Cæsar was ne'er so much your enemy
As that same ague which hath made you lean.
What is't o' ^noteclock?

Bru.
Cæsar, 'tis strucken ^note eight.

Cæs.
I thank you for your pains and courtesy. Enter Antony.
See! ^note Antony, that revels long o' nights ^note,
Is notwithstanding up. Good morrow, Antony.

^note

Ant.
So to most noble Cæsar.

Cæs.
Bid them prepare within ^note:
I am to blame ^note 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. [Aside ^note] And so near will I be,
That your best friends shall wish I had been further.

Cæs.
Good friends, go in and taste some wine with me;
And we like friends will straightway go together.

Bru. [Aside ^note]
That every like is not the same, O Cæsar,
The heart of Brutus yearns ^note to think upon! [Exeunt. ^note Scene III. [Footnote: A street ^note near the Capitol. Enter Artemidorus, reading a paper ^note.

Art.

‘Cæsar, beware of Brutus; take heed of Cassius; come not near Casca; have an eye to Cinna; trust not Trebonius; mark well Metellus Cimber: Decius Brutus loves thee not: thou hast ^note wronged Caius Ligarius. There is ^note but one mind in all these men, and it is bent against ^note Cæsar. If thou beest not immortal, look about you ^note: security gives way to conspiracy. The mighty gods defend thee! ^note

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 ^note of emulation.
If thou read this, O Cæsar, thou mayst ^note live;
If not, the Fates with traitors do contrive. [Exit. ^{note note} Scene IV. [Footnote: Another ^note part of the same street, before the house of Brutus. Enter Portia and Lucius.

Por.
I prithee, boy, run to the senate-house;
Stay not to answer me, but get thee gone.
Why dost thou stay?

Luc.
To know my errand, madam.

Por.
I would have had thee there, and here again,
Ere I can tell thee what thou shouldst do there.
O constancy, be strong upon my side!
Set a huge mountain 'tween my heart and tongue!
I have a man's mind, but a woman's might ^note.
How hard it is for women to keep counsel! ^note
Art thou here yet?

Luc.
Madam, what should I do?
Run to the Capitol, and nothing else?
And so return to you, and nothing else?

Por.
Yes, bring me word, boy ^note, if thy lord look well,
For he went sickly forth: and take good note
What Cæsar doth, what suitors press to him.
Hark, boy! what noise is that?

Luc.
I hear none, madam.

Por.
Prithee, listen well:
I heard ^note a bustling ^note rumour like a fray,
And the wind brings it from the Capitol.

Luc.
Sooth, madam, I hear nothing. Enter the Soothsayer. ^note

Por.
Come hither, fellow:
Which way hast thou been? ^note

Sooth. ^note
At mine own house, good lady.

Por.
What is't o' ^noteclock?

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
To be so good to Cæsar as to hear me, ^note
I shall beseech him to befriend ^note himself.

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

Sooth.
None that I know will be, much that I fear may chance ^{note note}.
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 Cæsar as he comes along. [Exit.

Por.
I must go in. Ay ^note me, how weak a thing ^note
The heart of woman is! O Brutus, ^note
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;
Say I am merry: come to me again,
And bring me word what he doth say to thee. [Exeunt severally. ^note ACT III. ^note Scene I. [Footnote: Rome. Before ^note the Capitol; the Senate sitting above. A crowd of people; among them Artemidorus and the Soothsayer. ^note Flourish. Enter Cæsar, Brutus, Cassius, Casca, Decius, Metellus, Trebonius, Cinna, Antony, Lepidus, Popilius, Publius, and others. ^note

Cæs.
The ides of March are come.

Sooth.
Ay, Cæsar; but not gone.

Art.
Hail, Cæsar! read this schedule ^note.

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 ^note: read it, great ^note Cæsar.

Cæs.
What touches us ourself ^note shall be last served.

Art.
Delay not, Cæsar; read it instantly.

Cæs.
What, is the fellow mad?

Pub.
Sirrah, give place.

Cas.
What, urge you your petitions in the street?
Come to the Capitol. Cæsar ^note goes up to the Senate-house, the rest following. ^note

Pop.
I wish your enterprise to-day may thrive.

Cas.
What enterprise, Popilius?

Pop.
Fare you well. [Advances to Cæsar. ^note

Bru.
What said Popilius Lena?

Cas.
He wish'd to-day our enterprise might thrive.
I fear our purpose is discovered.

Bru.
Look, how he makes to Cæsar: mark him ^note.

Cas.
Casca,
Be sudden, for we fear prevention. ^note
Brutus, what shall be done? If this be known, ^note
Cassius or ^note Cæsar never shall turn back, ^note
For I will slay myself.

Bru.
Cassius, be constant:
Popilius Lena ^note speaks not of our purposes ^note;
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 ^note and Trebonius.

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 your ^note hand. ^note

Cæs.
Are we ^note all ready? ^note 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:— ^note [Kneeling. ^note

Cæs.
I must prevent thee, Cimber.
These couchings ^note and these lowly courtesies ^note
Might fire ^note the blood of ordinary men,
And turn pre-ordinance and first ^note decree
Into the law ^note 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 ^note court'sies and base spaniel-fawning ^note.
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, Cæsar doth not wrong, nor ^note 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.

Cæs.
What, Brutus!

Cas.
Pardon, Cæsar; Cæsar, pardon:
As low ^note as to thy foot doth Cassius fall,
To beg enfranchisement for Publius Cimber.

Cæs.
I could be well moved, 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 ^note 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 ^note,
Unshaked of motion ^note: and that I am he, ^note
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. ^note
O Cæsar,— ^note

Cæs.
Hence! wilt thou lift up Olympus?

Dec.
Great Cæsar,— ^note

Cæs.
Doth not Brutus bootless kneel? ^note

Casca.
Speak, hands ^note, for me! [Casca ^note first, then the other Conspirators and Marcus Brutus stab Cæsar.

Cæs.
Et tu, Brute? Then fall, Cæsar! [Dies. ^note

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.
And Cassius too.

Bru.
Where's Publius?

Cin.
Here, quite confounded with this mutiny.

Met.
Stand fast together, lest some friend ^note of Cæsar's
Should chance—

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 ^note
But we the doers. Re-enter ^note Trebonius. ^note

Cas.
Where is ^note Antony?

Tre.
Fled to his house amazed:
Men, wives and children stare, cry out and run
As it were doomsday.

Bru.
Fates, we will ^note know your pleasures:
That we shall die, we know; 'tis but the time,
And drawing days out, that men stand upon.

Cas. ^note
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 abridged
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! ^note’ ^note

Cas.
Stoop then, and wash. How many ages hence
Shall this our lofty scene be acted over ^note
In states ^note unborn and accents yet unknown!

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

Cas. ^note
So oft ^note as that shall be ^note,
So often shall the knot of us be call'd
The men that gave their ^note country liberty.

Dec.
What ^note, shall we forth?

Cas.
Ay, every man away: ^note
Brutus shall lead, and we will grace his heels
With the most boldest and best ^note hearts of Rome. Enter ^note a Servant.

Bru.
Soft! who comes here? A friend of Antony's. ^{note note}

Serv.
Thus, Brutus, did my master bid me kneel;
Thus did Mark Antony bid me fall down;

And, being prostrate, thus he bade ^note me say:
Brutus is noble, wise, valiant and honest;
Cæsar was mighty, bold, royal ^note and loving:
Say I love Brutus and I honour him;
Say I fear'd Cæsar, honour'd him and loved him.
If Brutus will vouchsafe that Antony
May safely come to him and be resolved
How Cæsar hath deserved 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 ^note Antony.

Bru.
Thy master is a wise and valiant Roman;
I never thought him worse ^note.
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. [Exit. ^note

Bru.
I know that we shall have him well to friend.

Cas.
I wish we may: but yet have I ^note a mind
That fears him much, and my misgiving still
Falls shrewdly to the purpose. Re-enter ^note Antony. ^note

Bru.
But here comes Antony. ^note Welcome, Mark Antony. ^note

Ant.
O mighty Cæsar! dost thou lie so low?
Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils,
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 Cæsar's death's hour ^note, 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 ye, if you ^note bear me hard,
Now, whilst your purpled hands do reek and smoke,
Fulfil your pleasure. Live a thousand years,
I shall not find myself so apt to die:
No place will please me so, no mean ^note of death,
As here by Cæsar, 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:
Our hearts you see not; they are pitiful;
And pity to the general wrong of Rome—
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 Antony ^note:
Our arms in strength of malice, ^note and our hearts
Of brothers' temper, do receive you in ^note
With all kind love, good thoughts and reverence.

Cas.
Your voice shall be as strong as any man's
In the disposing of new dignities.

Bru.
Only be patient till we have appeased
The multitude, beside themselves with fear,
And then we will deliver you the cause
Why I, that did love Cæsar when I struck ^note him,

Have thus proceeded ^note.

Ant.
I doubt not of your wisdom ^note. ^note
Let each man render me his bloody hand:
First, Marcus Brutus, will I shake with you;
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 Trebonius.
Gentlemen all,— ^note 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. ^note
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,
Shaking the bloody fingers of thy foes,
Most noble! in the presence of thy corse? ^note
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, Julius! Here wast thou bay'd, brave hart ^note;
Here didst thou fall, and here thy hunters stand,
Sign'd in thy spoil and crimson'd in thy lethe ^note.
O world, thou wast the forest to this hart;
And this, indeed, O world, the heart ^note of thee.
How like a deer strucken ^note by many princes
Dost thou here lie! ^note

Cas.
Mark Antony,— ^note

Ant.
Pardon me, Caius Cassius ^note:
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 indeed
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 ^note a savage spectacle:
Our reasons are so full of good regard
That were you, Antony, ^note 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 ^note. [Aside to Bru. ^note]
You know not what you do: do not consent
That Antony speak in his funeral:
Know you how much the people may be moved
By that which he will utter?

Bru.
By your pardon: ^note
I will myself into the pulpit first,
And show the reason of our Cæsar'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 ^note rites and lawful ceremonies.
It shall advantage more than do us wrong.

Cas.
I know not what may fall; I like it not ^note.

Bru.
Mark Antony, here, take you ^note 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 ^note 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.
Be it so;
I do desire no more.

Bru.
Prepare the body then, and follow us. [Exeunt ^note all but Antony. ^note

Ant.
O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of ^note 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.
Woe to the hand ^note that shed this costly blood!
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 upon the limbs ^note of men ^note;
Domestic 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 ^note with ^note the hands of war;
All pity choked 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 ^note,’ and let slip the dogs of war;
That this foul deed shall smell above the earth
With ^note carrion men, groaning for burial. Enter a Servant. ^note
You serve Octavius Cæsar, do you not?

Serv.
I do, Mark Antony.

Ant.
Cæsar did write for him ^note to come to Rome ^note.

Serv.
He did receive his letters, and is coming;
And bid me say to you by word of mouth—
O Cæsar! [Seeing the body. ^note

Ant.
Thy heart is big; get thee apart and weep.
Passion, I see, is catching, for ^note mine eyes,
Seeing those beads ^note of sorrow stand in thine,
Began ^note 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 chanced: ^note
Here is a mourning Rome, a dangerous Rome,
No Rome ^note of safety for Octavius yet;

Hie hence, and tell him so. Yet stay awhile;
Thou shalt not back till I have borne this corse ^note
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. ^{note note} Scene II. [Footnote: The Forum. ^note Enter Brutus and Cassius, and a throng of Citizens. ^note

Citizens. ^note
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 ^note, let 'em ^note stay here;
Those that will follow Cassius, go with him;
And public reasons shall be rendered ^note
Of Cæsar's death.

First Cit.
I will hear Brutus speak.

Sec. Cit.
I will hear Cassius; and compare their reasons,
When severally we hear them rendered ^note. [Exit Cassius, with some of the Citizens. Brutus goes into the pulpit. ^note

Third Cit.
The noble Brutus is ascended: silence!

Bru.
Be patient till the last.

Romans, countrymen, and lovers ^note! hear me for my cause, and be silent, that you may hear: believe me for mine honour, and have respect to mine honour, that you may believe: censure me in your wisdom, and awake your senses, that you may the better judge. If there be any in this assembly, any dear friend of Cæsar's, to him ^note I say that Brutus' ^note love to Cæsar was no less than his. If then that friend demand why Brutus rose against Cæsar, this is my answer: not that I loved Cæsar less, but that I loved Rome more. Had you rather Cæsar were living, and die all slaves, than that Cæsar were dead, to live all free-men ^note? As Cæsar loved me, I weep for him; as he was fortunate, I rejoice at it; as he was valiant, I honour him; but as he was ambitious, I slew him. There is ^note tears for his love; joy for his fortune; honour for his valour; and death for his ambition. Who is ^note here so base that would be a bondman? If any, speak; for him have I offended. Who is here so rude that would not be a Roman? If any, speak; for him have I offended. Who is here so vile that will not love his country? If any, speak; for him have I offended. ^note I pause for a reply. ^note

All. ^note

None, Brutus, none.

Bru.

Then none have I offended. I have done no more to Cæsar than you shall do to Brutus. The question of his death is enrolled in the Capitol; his glory not extenuated, wherein he was worthy, nor his offences enforced, for which he suffered death.