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JULIUS C^SAR 
 
 WITH INTRODUCTION, NOTES, 
 AND QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW 
 
 Adapted from the Wood and Syms-Wood 
 "Oxford and Cambridge Edition" 
 
 BY 
 
 F. A. PURCELL, D.D. 
 
 RECTOR, CATHEDRAL COLLEGE, CHICAGO 
 
 AND 
 
 L. M. SOMERS, M.A. 
 
 PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH, CATHEDRAL COLLEGE 
 
 SCOTT, FORESMAN AND COMPANY 
 
 CHICAGO NEW YORK 
 
1 
 
 
 Copyright 1916 
 By F. A. Purcell and L. M. Somers 
 
 us 
 
 JAN 26 \m 
 ©CU420520 
 
% 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Preface " 
 
 Introduction 
 
 I. Narrative of Shakespeare 's Life 7 
 
 II. Shakespeare 's Eeligion 10 
 
 III. Shakespeare 's Learning 14 
 
 IV. The Drama I 7 
 
 V. Bepresentation of the Drama in Shakespeare's Time 19 
 
 VI. Construction of the Drama "Julius C^sar" 21 
 
 VII. Structure of the Play 23 
 
 VIII. Two Views of the Play 24 
 
 IX. Points of Contrast 26 
 
 X. Source of the Play 26 
 
 XI. The Title of the Play 28 
 
 XII. On Characterization 29 
 
 XIII. Character Interpretation 30 
 
 XIV. Characters of the Play 31 
 
 XV. Historical Introduction in Connection with Eoman 
 
 History 58 
 
 XVI. Eoman Titles 67 
 
 XVII. Abstract of the Play 68 
 
 Chronology of the Play 72 
 
 Text 73 
 
 Notes 164 
 
 Grammatical Notes I 73 
 
 Versification 181 
 
 Variants and Proposed Emendations 185 
 
 The Forum and Its Surroundings 186 
 
 Cautions and Hints for Paraphrasing 187 
 
 Questions for Eeview I8 9 
 
 Glossary 201 
 
PREFACE 
 
 This series of Shakespeare's plays, which includes The 
 Merchant of Venice, Julius Ccesar, Macbeth, and Hamlet, is 
 based mainly on the Oxford and Cambridge editions of Spils- 
 bury, and Marshall and Wood. The present Editors have found 
 it expedient to eliminate certain passages in the text, as well as 
 to make some changes of matter and form in the editorial work, 
 deemed necessary for American schools. The Introduction con- 
 tains a Biographical Sketch of Shakespeare, a short account of 
 the History of the Drama, brief references to the Sources of the 
 Play, to the Characters, to Versification, to the Grammar of 
 Shakespeare, etc. The annotated words are printed in italic 
 type and the notes and word equivalents are given in the margin 
 in juxtaposition with the text for the convenience of the student. 
 The Glossary and many of the Notes have been rewritten, con- 
 densed, or amplified, as the case required, and the Classical and 
 Biblical Allusions have been included in the Notes and Glossary. 
 An abstract of the play has been supplied in Hamlet and in The 
 Merchant of Venice. Some unimportant and apocryphal matter 
 has been omitted. The section on Shakespearean Grammar will 
 be found convenient for those who may have difficulty in classi- 
 fying many Shakespearean expressions, and the Questions for 
 Review will be of advantage to both teacher and pupil, by saving 
 time for the one, and by assigning specific work to the other. 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 William Shakespeare, the greatest of English dramatic poets, 
 was born at Stratford-on-Avon, "Warwickshire, England, on 
 April 23, 1564. His father, John Shakespeare, was of the yeoman 
 class. He had been a successful Warwickshire farmer, but he 
 adopted the trade of glover on his removal to Stratford in 1553. 
 There he soon became an important factor in municipal affairs, 
 and by ability and industry he rapidly arose from one position 
 of trust to another, until finally, in 1568, he became high 
 bailiff or mayor of the town. Shakespeare 's mother, Mary Arden, 
 was of an old Warwickshire family, and though she inherited 
 "lands and houses' ' she had no education. 
 
 John and Mary Shakespeare had eight children — four sons 
 and four daughters. William, the third child, was the eldest 
 son. Of his infancy and boyhood we know practically nothing. 
 It is probable, however, that at the age of seven he entered the 
 grammar school of Stratford, where he learned the rudiments 
 of Latin, English grammar, writing, arithmetic, and probably a 
 little Greek. His years at school were not many, for the 
 declining fortunes of his father compelled the boy to seek 
 employment when he was but thirteen years of age. After this 
 we hear little or nothing about him until the time of his marriage, 
 which probably took place in December, 1582. His wife, Ann 
 Hathaway, of whom the boy-poet admiringly wrote 
 
 Ann Hathaway, she hath a way 
 
 To charm all hearts, Ann Hathaway, 
 
 does not seem to have long exerted that charm over her young 
 husband. At the time of their union he was little more than 
 
 7 
 
3 JULIUS CAESAR 
 
 eighteen, while she had attained the more mature age of twenty- 
 six. This marriage, like most marriages of its kind, did not 
 prove a happy one. 
 
 If a small amount of reliable tradition can be winnowed from 
 the chaff of fiction with which the memory of Shakespeare's 
 boyhood days at Stratford is surrounded, we may give credence 
 to the tales regarding his youthful follies and escapades. Of the 
 latter but one may be mentioned as having a direct bearing 
 upon his whole career. We are told that among other pro- 
 hibited practices of the time he took part in poaching expedi- 
 tions, during one of which he was caught stealing deer from the 
 estate of Sir Thomas Lucy of Charlecote. The punishment for 
 this offense in those days was a fine and imprisonment. Sir 
 Thomas, being Justice of the Peace for that district, acted as 
 "judge, jury, and executioner" in the case of the young Shake- 
 speare, who bitterly resented the punishment meted out to him. 
 In revenge, we are told, he wrote the scurrilous lampoon 
 beginning 
 
 A parliament member, a justice of peace, 
 At home a poor scarecrow, etc. 
 
 and posted it on the gate to Charlecote Manor. 
 
 This naturally aroused Sir Thomas to further reprisals, and 
 Shakespeare, to avoid his vengeance fled to London in 1585. 
 Verification of the poaching tradition may be found in 2 Henry 
 IV and in The Merry Wives of Windsor, where Lucy is carica- 
 tured as "Justice Shallow." The three luces or pikes, in the 
 Lucy coat-of-arms, apparently suggested the "dozen white luces" 
 in The Merry Wives of Windsor, and the many allusions to 
 poaching found in the context are none the less significant. 
 
 Before the poet's departure for London, three children were 
 born to him — Susanna, the eldest, in May, 1583, and Hamnet and 
 Judith, twins, in February, 1585. On his flight, the immediate 
 support of these children is supposed to have devolved upon his 
 
INTBODTJCTION 9 
 
 mother-in-law, Mrs. Hathaway, of Shottery, then a widow in 
 affluent circumstances. 
 
 Tradition says that Shakespeare's first employment in Lon- 
 don was holding horses at theater doors, and doing odd jobs 
 for theater goers. Be this as it may, we soon find him employed 
 as prompter's attendant, whose duty it was to notify the actors 
 when it was their turn to appear upon the stage, etc., and 
 later we find him filling minor parts in the plays. Gradually 
 he worked his way into more important positions. During 
 these first few years he must have devoted considerable time 
 to reading, as a preparation for the wonderful works he was 
 afterwards to produce. He recast and revised many old plays, 
 began the production of original dramas, and acted some of 
 the leading roles in his own plays. In company with William 
 Kempe and Richard Burbage he made a successful appearance 
 before Queen Elizabeth at Greenwich Palace in 1594. He acted 
 before her again at Whitehall in 1596, at Richmond and White- 
 hall in 1600, four times at Whitehall in 1601-02, and at Rich- 
 mond Palace in 1603, a month before her death. In 1603 he 
 fell under the favorable notice of King James I., who granted 
 him and his company a license to play in London and the sur- 
 rounding provinces. Later he appeared at court on several occa- 
 sions, and in 1604 he marched in the royal train when James 
 made' his formal passage from the tower to Westminster. On 
 this occasion he and each of his companions received four and 
 one-half yards of scarlet silk, the usual dress allowance of court 
 actors in those days. It is quite evident that as an actor Shake- 
 speare was much more successful, financially, than as a play- 
 Whatever may have been Shakespeare's youthful follies and 
 extravagances, in later life he became not only a great poet, but 
 he also developed the instincts of a shrewd business man. 
 Through his acting and the sale of his plays he accumulated a 
 respectable fortune, with part of which he purchased some 
 
10 JULIUS OffiSAB 
 
 valuable property in London and elsewhere. After an absence 
 of eleven years he returned to Stratford in 1596, to bury his 
 only son, Hamnet.* 
 
 At Stratford Shakespeare invested considerable money in 
 houses and lands, and obtained from the government the dis- 
 tinction of a coat-of-arms, but he did not take up his residence 
 there until 1616. In this year he abandoned dramatic composi- 
 tion and began to enjoy, in his beautiful home at Stratford, 
 a well deserved and and much needed rest. At the beginning of 
 this year, however, his health began to fail rapidly and by 
 April his end was near. The actual cause of his death is 
 unknown, but it is generally admitted that overwork, and a not 
 too submissive obedience to the laws of health, hastened an 
 all too early dissolution. He died on the fifty-second anniver- 
 sary of his birth, April 23, 1616, and was buried inside the 
 chancel of Stratford church. On his tomb was inscribed the 
 following epitaph: 
 
 Good frend for Jesus' sake forbeare 
 To digg the dust encloased heare, 
 Blese be ye man yt spares thes stones, 
 And curst be he yt moves my bones. 
 
 ii. Shakespeare's religion 
 
 The question of Shakespeare's religion has been long, and 
 sometimes furiously, debated. Many eminent writers incline to 
 the belief that he was a Roman Catholic, while many others, 
 equally eminent, maintain that he was a Protestant. At the risk 
 of being considered partisan the editors have decided to insert 
 the following rather lengthy extract from the pen of the dis- 
 tinguished litterateur and scientist, James J. Walsh, M.D., L.H.D. 
 
 * The direct line of Shakespeare's family became extinct a little over fifty years 
 after the poet's death. Judith married Thomas Quiney, of Stratford. The off- 
 spring of this marriage — three boys — died before reaching the age of manhood. 
 Susanna married Dr. Hall, and of their union was born Elizabeth, the only 
 granddaughter of the poet. Elizabeth married Thomas Nash, who died leaving no 
 children. She then married John Barnard, who was afterwards knighted by 
 Charles II. Lady Barnard died childless in 1669, and thus the immediate family 
 of Shakespeare became extinct. 
 
INTRODUCTION H 
 
 This extract they hope will be instructive to many Catholics, 
 and interesting, at least, to some who are not Catholics : 
 
 There is no doubt that Shakespeare 's mother lived and died a 
 Catholic. Her name was Mary Arden, and many of the Ardens 
 continued to be staunch Catholics even during the dangers of 
 Elizabeth's reign. Indeed, one of the prominent members of 
 the family suffered death for the faith. Shakespeare's mother, 
 moreover, made a will in which there is a mention of the Blessed 
 Virgin, a custom that had gone out of vogue in England at this 
 time except among Catholics. Shakespeare's father, too, is on 
 the list of Stratford recusants who were summoned by the court 
 for not attending the Anglican service on Sundays. Shake- 
 speare's immediate surroundings, likewise, were distinctly 
 Catholic, for the spirit of the old religion had not died as yet in 
 England. Indeed, it was very much alive in the central portion 
 of the country. 
 
 It is sometimes said, however, that there can be no question of 
 Shakespeare 's being a Catholic, for he was married, baptized, and 
 buried in the Anglican Church. But these facts, it must be 
 remembered, have in themselves no such significance as they 
 would possess at the present time. There was no way of having 
 the birth of a child properly registered then in England except 
 by having it baptized in the church by law established. Obse- 
 quies also had to be observed according to the Anglican rite, 
 for the only cemetery was close to the parish church. As for 
 Shakespeare's marriage, in recent years the interesting sugges- 
 tion has been made that the real reason for the circumstances 
 attending the ceremony, which are supposed to carry a hint of 
 scandal with them, is because he was originally married by a 
 Catholic priest. As it was then very perilous for a priest to 
 show himself in public or to perform any official church service, 
 the marriage was, of course, performed secretly. Anne Hath- 
 away 's family, moreover, was Catholic by tradition, and about 
 the time of the marriage it is known that a priest, not entirely 
 without the knowledge of the local authorities, used to say Mass 
 privately, in the loft of one of the houses at Shottery. 
 
 But if Shakespeare was a Catholic should not his plays show 
 it? Unquestionably. And I maintain they do. Commentators 
 have pointed out, for instance, that Shakespeare in Romeo and 
 Juliet follows Arthur Brooke's Tragical History of Romeo and 
 
12 JULIUS CAESAR 
 
 Juliet very closely. He has, however, changed the whole of the 
 play's attitude toward the Catholic Church. Confession instead 
 of being a source of sin actually protects the young people from 
 their own passion in the most difficult circumstances, and almost 
 succeeds in rescuing them from an unfortunate complication. 
 Instead of being "superstitious," Friar Lawrence is pictured 
 as a dear old man interested in his plants and what they can 
 do for mankind, but interested still more in human souls, trying 
 to care for them and quite willing to do everything that he can, 
 even risking the displeasure of two noble nouses rather than 
 have the young people commit sin. Friar Lawrence is repre- 
 sented in general as one to whom Komeo and Juliet would nat- 
 urally turn in their difficulty. 
 
 But King John, it is maintained, represents an altogether 
 different attitude toward the Church. In that play they assert 
 there are passages which make it very clear that Shakespeare 
 shares the general feeling of the men of England in his time. 
 King John protests, for example : 
 
 That no Italian priest 
 Shall tithe or toll in our dominions. 
 But as we, under heaven, are supreme head, 
 So under Him that great supremacy, 
 Where we do reign, we will alone uphold, 
 Without the assistance of a mortal hand: 
 So tell the Pope, all reverence set apart 
 To him and his usurp 'd authority. 
 
 In this play, too, there are some bitter comments on monks 
 which would seem to prove that Shakespeare shared the opinions 
 of many of his contemporaries regarding monasticism. But let 
 us see: The Troublesome Reign of King John, from which 
 Shakespeare made his play, was probably written in the year of 
 the Spanish Armada when English national feeling ran very 
 high and there was bitter antagonism against Catholicism as the 
 religion of England's greatest enemies. The dramatist — we are 
 not quite sure who it was — shrewdly took advantage of this 
 political situation in order to gain favor for his play. He tickled 
 the ears of the groundlings and attracted popular attention by 
 stimulating the prejudice of his audience. Shakespeare modified 
 all this to a very marked extent when he rewrote the play seven 
 years later, though it can be seen that he used many of the words 
 of the original version and was evidently following it very 
 
INTEODUCTION 13 
 
 closely. But for some good reason he was manifestly minimizing 
 all the anti-Catholic bias in it though letting stand whatever 
 sentiments were suitable for such characters as King John and 
 his entourage. In the matter of monks and nuns and their treat- 
 ment in the original version of King John, Shakespeare has been 
 even more drastic in the changes that he made. 
 
 But the best evidence of Shakespeare's attitude toward the 
 Anglican Church is to be found in King Henry VIII. , one of the 
 poet's greatest plays and the last he wrote. Some of the Wolsey 
 speeches in it are the finest examples of English that were ever 
 penned. It is conceded by all the critics to be the ripest fruit of 
 his mature years. Therefore, if a play can be considered the 
 expression of Shakespeare's settled opinion, that play is Henry 
 VIII. Now it so happens that the subject of Henry VIII. is 
 exactly the story of how the change of religion came about in 
 England. But it is sometimes urged that the fifth act, with its 
 culmination in the birth of Elizabeth, and the high prospects 
 for England and the rejoicings which this occasions, indicates 
 that the writer considered that the marriage of King Henry to 
 Anne Boleyn and the birth of a daughter by that union marked 
 a great epoch in English history and, above all, that the steps 
 that led to this happy termination, though dramatically blame- 
 worthy, must be condoned owing to their happy consequences. 
 It is well known, however, that the fifth act by every test known 
 to Shakespearean commentators was not written by Shakespeare 
 at all, but by Fletcher. 
 
 Our knowledge of Shakespeare's relations with people in 
 London would indicate that a great many of his friends and 
 intimates were Catholics. It is possible that the Burbages, the 
 actors with whom he was so closely joined during most of his 
 dramatic career, belonged to the Warwickshire Catholic family 
 of that name. One of Shakespeare's dearest friends, the Earl of 
 Southampton, who was his patron in early years, and his sup- 
 porter when he bought the Blackfriars theater, was closely allied 
 to a Catholic family and, as Simpson has pointed out, was 
 cradled in Catholic surroundings. 
 
 The conversion of Ben Jonson about the middle of the last 
 decade of the sixteenth century showed how easily men might 
 be Catholics in London at this time. Ben Jonson was in the 
 Marshalsea prison on a charge of murder in 1594 and found 
 
14 JULIUS CAESAR 
 
 himself surrounded by priests who were charged with treason 
 because of their refusal to take the oath of supremacy. By asso- 
 ciating with them Jonson became a Catholic and when released 
 from prison married a Catholic wife. His child was baptized 
 Mary, and Shakespeare was chosen as her sponsor. This choice 
 of a godfather seems to indicate that Shakespeare was a Catholic 
 at this time for, in his ardor as a new convert, Ben Jonson would 
 scarcely have selected an Anglican for that office. 
 
 One more proof of Shakespeare 's Catholicism in conclusion : 
 About the close of the seventeenth century Archdeacon Davies, 
 who was a local historian and antiquarian in the neighboring 
 county of Staffordshire, but who was well acquainted with Strat- 
 ford and its history, and who could easily have had very definite 
 sources of information denied to us, declared that Shakespeare 
 1 ' dyed a papist. ' ' It would have been perfectly possible, it must 
 be remembered, for Archdeacon Davies to have spoken with 
 people who knew Shakespeare during the years that the poet 
 spent in Stratford at the end of his life. After this review of 
 the evidence I can not but conclude that Shakespeare not only 
 "dyed a papist," but also lived as one. 
 
 Leaving those, to whom these lines may be of interest, to 
 make their own deductions, the editors accept the conclusions of 
 the distinguished Jesuit, Herbert Thurston, who, in discussing 
 this point in the Catholic Encyclopedia, maintains that there 
 is no real ground for the belief that Shakespeare either lived 
 or died a Catholic. Thurston concludes his able study of this 
 question by stating, ' ' The point must remain forever uncertain. ' ' 
 
 in. Shakespeare's learning 
 
 Of Shakespeare 's learning it may be said that though classical 
 quotations and allusions are numerous throughout his works, 
 Ben Jonson credits him with "small Latin and less Greek." 
 "His quotations from Latin literature are such as a schoolboy 
 might make from Virgil, Ovid, and the other authors he had 
 studied; and his allusions to classical history and mythology 
 are mostly from the same sources, or from the familiar stock in 
 English books of the period." (Rolfe.) In comparing Shake- 
 
INTBODUCTION 15 
 
 speare with the dramatists of his time, Jasper Mayne, writing in 
 1637, mentions him as one of those who did his work "without 
 Latin helps"; and Mayne 's contemporary, Ramsey, in compli- 
 menting Ben Jonson on his knowledge of the classical languages, 
 says that he (Jonson) 
 
 could command 
 That which your Shakespeare could scarce understand. 
 
 Yet we are told that Shakespeare's work is "Art without art, 
 unparalleled as yet," and though he borrowed nothing from 
 Latin or Greek, his Julius Caesar ravished the audience, 
 
 When some new day they would not brook a line 
 
 Of tedious (though well labour >d) Catiline, 
 
 and Jonson 's "Sejanus too was irksome." In Fuller's Worthies 
 we find the following reference to Shakespeare: "He was an 
 eminent instance of the truth of that rule, Poeta non fit, sed 
 nascitur — one is not made but born a poet. Indeed his learning 
 was very little . . . nature itself was all the art which was 
 used on him. . . . The wit combats between him and Ben 
 Jonson, which two I behold like a Spanish great galleon and an 
 English man-of-war. Master Jonson (like the former) was built 
 far higher in learning; solid but slow in his performances: 
 Shakespeare, like the English man-of-war, lesser in bulk and 
 lighter in sailing, could turn with all tides, tack about, and take 
 advantage of all winds, by the quickness of his wit and inven- 
 tion." Dryden in his Essay on Dramatic Poesy (1668), says: 
 "Those who accuse him to have wanted learning, give him the 
 greater commendation ; he needed not the spectacles of books to 
 read nature ; he looked inwards and found her there : ' ' and in 
 the same author's prologue to Julius Cazsar we find, 
 
 So in this Caesar which today we see, 
 
 Tully ne'er spoke as he makes Antony. 
 
 Those then that tax his learning are to blame; 
 
 He knew the thing, but did not know the name. 
 
 Great Jonson did that ignorance adore, 
 
 And tho* he envied much, admired him more. 
 
16 
 
 JULIUS CAESAR 
 
 The material for his historical plays he obtained from 
 Holinshed and Plutarch, and in the use of these rather unre- 
 liable authorities he makes many unscholarly mistakes. 
 
 During his mature years and in the time of his prosperity, 
 he brought out his best works. Some writers credit him with the 
 authorship of forty-three plays of a dramatic character. Seven 
 of these are considered spurious. Thirty-three known to be his 
 are divided as follows : 
 
 The Taming of the Shrew 
 The Merchant of Venice 
 All's Well that Ends Well 
 Much Ado About Nothing 
 Measure for Measure 
 The Comedy of Errors 
 Twelfth Night 
 Midsummer -Night 's Dream 
 As You Like It 
 Cymbeline 
 
 Two Gentlemen of Verona 
 The Merry Wives of Windsor 
 Love 's Labor 's Lost 
 
 The Winter's Tale 
 The Tempest 
 
 Timon of Athens 
 
 Pericles 
 
 Julius Csesar 
 
 Antony and Cleopatra 
 
 Coriolanus 
 
 Hamlet 
 
 Troilus and Cressida 
 
 Romeo and Juliet 
 Othello 
 
 King Lear 
 Macbeth 
 
 King John 
 
 King Richard the Second 
 
 1 and 2 King Henry the Fourth 
 
 King Henry the Fifth 
 
 1, 2, 3 King Henry the Sixth 
 
 Richard the Third 
 
 Henry the Eighth 
 
 Italian Origin 
 
 V Classical (from Plautus) 
 ^Mediaeval Sources 
 
 Legendary 
 Spanish Origin 
 English Origin 
 French Origin 
 
 [►Origin Unknown 
 
 Classical Origin 
 .(Plutarch's Lives, 
 North) 
 
 ^Mediaeval Origin 
 
 Comedies 
 
 by 
 
 } 
 
 Italian Origin 
 
 "1 Origin — Legendary 
 r History of Britain 
 
 Origin — Holinshed & Hall 
 
 Tragedies 
 
 Chronicle 
 Plays 
 
INTRODUCTION 17 
 
 Besides these he wrote one hundred and fifty-four Sonnets 
 and some Narrative Poems. 
 
 IV. THE DRAMA 
 
 A lengthy discussion of the drama cannot be conveniently 
 introduced into a text of this kind ; therefore, the chief heads only 
 will be touched upon. Drama is a Greek term signifying action, 
 and in its application it comprehends all forms of literature 
 proper for presentation on the stage. In the drama, actors 
 usually tell a story by means of word and action. This story 
 may be tragic or comic; — tragic when the serious phases of life 
 are discussed, comic when life's follies and foibles are depicted. 
 Other phases of the drama which do not, strictly speaking, come 
 under the heading tragedy or comedy, are the Greek Satyrs, the 
 Morality Plays of the Middle Ages, the Pastoral Plays of the 
 Renaissance, and the Melodramas still in vogue. 
 
 Although the drama was well established in the remote ages 
 in India and China, the earliest examples of pure dramatic art 
 are to be found in Greece. From the sacred songs and choruses 
 in honor of the god Dionysius, the Greeks in time evolved a form 
 of drama, the chief features of which, even in its highest stages 
 of development, were lyric or choral. To Aeschylus, Sophocles, 
 Euripides, and Aristophanes, in the fifth century, and to 
 Menander at a later period, the Greek drama owes its greatness 
 and its influence in ancient and in modern dramatic literature. 
 
 The Roman drama, as it has come down to us in the works 
 of Terence, Plautus, and Seneca, is but a slightly modified form 
 of Menander, and shows some traces of the influence of Aeschylus 
 and other dramatists of his time. This modification, in the 
 comedies of Plautus at least, was not for the betterment of the 
 drama; on the contrary, it was a concession to the depraved 
 taste of his Roman audience. Unfortunately, Plautus' travesties 
 of the old Greek masters later served as models for the dramatic 
 writers of the Renaissance, and his influence is felt even to the 
 
18 JULIUS (LESAR 
 
 present day. Modern tragedy, generally speaking, is a direct 
 offspring of the works of Seneca. Toward the close of the Roman 
 Empire, the theaters became the scenes of the most degraded 
 exhibitions of indecency and debauchery. Christianity attacked 
 these indecencies and drove the mimes from their haunts of 
 infamy into the streets and byways of Rome and its environs. 
 These mimes practiced their mimicry in the villages and cross- 
 roads, and became the models for the strolling players of the 
 middle ages. 
 
 Christianity, however, recognized the necessity of the drama 
 as a humanizing influence, and though years elapsed before its 
 restoration as drama proper, the leaders of the new religion set 
 about the substitution of wholesome Christian plays for the 
 Roman indecencies to which they had recently given the death 
 blow. The Scriptures and the liturgy of the church were rich 
 stores from which were drawn the materials for the Mystery, 
 the Morality, and the Miracle Plays. After a time these exhibi- 
 tions passed from the control of churchmen into the hands of 
 the Guilds. Under the management of the Guilds these plays 
 soon lost their religious aspect, and before the end of the fifteenth 
 century they had been completely divorced from church in- 
 fluence, and were ready to be destroyed or absorbed by the spirit 
 of the New Learning. This destruction or absorption, however, 
 was not accomplished without a struggle. The leaders of the 
 Renaissance advocated the complete dominance of classic in- 
 fluence in the reconstruction of the drama, while the Mediaeval- 
 ists strenuously advocated the perpetuation of the Mystery, 
 Morality, and Miracle Plays. Of this travail, however, was born 
 the modern drama. 
 
 Italy, France, Germany, England, and Scandinavia contrib- 
 uted largely to the formation of the modern drama, but prac- 
 tically all the dramatic writers of these countries have been in- 
 fluenced by the Greek and Roman masters. These masters have 
 been slavishly imitated by all but a few of their pupils. This 
 
INTRODUCTION 19 
 
 is especially true in the matter of composition and technique. 
 The observance of the unities, the harmony of rhyme, the smooth- 
 ness of rhythm, the maintenance of the chorus, the number and 
 character of the dramatis personae, etc., were classic restrictions, 
 which, to a certain extent, have stultified the higher and broader 
 aspirations of many a dramatic genius. Among those who 
 rebelled against these restrictions, in so far as they affected the 
 English drama, were some of the immediate predecessors of 
 Shakespeare — Marlowe, Kyd, Green, and Lyly. These men 
 opened the way for the sweeping innovations of Shakespeare, 
 and for the half-hearted adoption of these innovations by Ben 
 Jonson, who often apologized to his contemporaries for his 
 temerity in disregarding the unities and other classic formulae. 
 Since Shakespeare 's time, or what is known as the period of 
 the Elizabethan drama, no English dramatic literature, worthy 
 of comparison with the work of that great master, has appeared. 
 During the reign of James I., Massinger, Middleton, Shirley, and 
 others wrote, but their art was only a weak imitation of their 
 masters, Marlowe and Shakespeare. Addison, Steele, Goldsmith, 
 Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, Tennyson, and others, 
 have sought recognition on the dramatic stage, but with little 
 or no success. So far America has produced nothing of a 
 dramatic nature worthy of recognition, and judging from the 
 dominance of the light, frivolous, vaudeville performances on the 
 English and American stages, the drama as a popular entertain- 
 ment has been laid to rest, and the day of its resurrection seems 
 far distant. 
 
 V. THE REPRESENTATION OF THE DRAMA IN SHAKESPEARE 'S TIME 
 
 The staging of the drama in Shakespeare's time was a very 
 different matter from what it is today. The primitive theaters, 
 or theatrical inns, were rude wooden structures, usually circular 
 in form, with a covered stage and covered galleries, and an open 
 
20 JULIUS CJESAR 
 
 pit exposed to the vicissitudes of wind and weather. These crude 
 structures were usually located outside the city walls, and be- 
 yond the jurisdiction of the city authorities, for, at that time, 
 all theatrical representations were held in disfavor by the Puri- 
 tanical leaders in church and state. The gallants of the town 
 occupied the stage with the players, and delighted in chaffing and 
 interrupting the actors with irrelevant puns and clownish 
 mimicry. The middle classes occupied the galleries and often 
 enjoyed the spontaneous sallies of wit and repartee between the 
 gallants and the players more than they enjoyed the play itself. 
 The "tag-rag," or what then might have been regarded as we 
 regard our present-day "gallery gods," occupied the pit, and 
 when not dodging the not infrequent missiles hurled from the 
 stage, or the snow or rain from the open firmament, they could 
 appreciate a good comedy or a real drama as well as could the 
 more favored occupants of the reserved places. The stage had 
 no scenery, that being first introduced by Davenant after the 
 Restoration. There were no rise and fall of a curtain to mark 
 the opening and close of a scene. The entrance to the stage was 
 strewn with rushes instead of being carpeted; the walls were 
 hung with arras; a large board with names painted on it indi- 
 cated where the scenes of the play being produced were laid. 
 For tragedies the walls were hung with black tapestry; Shake- 
 speare speaks of "Black stage for tragedies and murders fell" 
 ("Lucrece"); and History, addressing Comedy, says: 
 
 Look, Comedy, I mark'd it not till now, 
 
 The stage is hung with black, and I perceive 
 
 The auditors prepar'd for tragedie. 
 
 A Warning for Fair Women. 
 
 Before the Restoration women's parts were acted by boys, 
 and even among the audience no woman might appear unless 
 masked. The union of the serious and the comic in the same 
 play was common, and clowns were apt to thrust themselves 
 
INTRODUCTION 21 
 
 upon the stage on all occasions, much to the annoyance of 
 Shakespeare himself. (See Hamlet, III., ii., 43.) The costume 
 and many other stage accessories were almost entirely lacking, 
 and the few that were used were usually inappropriate. Thus 
 the gorgeous stage setting of the present day which adds so 
 much to the successful presentation of the drama had to be sup- 
 plied by the keen imagination of the audience; and here we 
 get a fair appreciation of the high degree of intelligence de- 
 manded from theater-goers of the Elizabethan period. 
 
 VI. THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE DRAMA 
 
 "A drama undertakes to tell a story by presenting a few 
 episodes or situations from which the entire course of the action 
 ean be inferred. Inasmuch as these scenes are to be presented in 
 rapid succession to an audience, they must be not only clear and 
 easy to follow, but, to be interesting, they must also afford op- 
 portunity for striking, significant action on the part of the char- 
 acters. Further, inasmuch as in a drama the author has no op- 
 portunity to tell his audience directly what he thinks of his 
 characters, these latter must reveal their natures and purposes 
 by their attitude toward one another, as manifested in speech 
 or action. It is most important that every action in a drama be 
 explained, prepared for, given a motive, by something which has 
 already taken place, or some trait of character already indi- 
 cated.' ' — Robert Morss Lovett. 
 
 JULIUS C&SAR 
 
 Julius Ccesar was not published until nine years after its 
 author's death. It first appeared in a collection of Shakespeare's 
 plays, known as the Folio of 1623. This Folio was published by 
 a syndicate ' ' at the charges of "W. Jaggard, Ed. Blount, I. Smith- 
 weeke, and W. Aspley." It was printed for two of the poet's 
 admirers and fellow-actors, Henry Condell and John Hemyng, 
 
22 JULIUS CAESAR 
 
 and contained thirty-six plays and no poems. No other play of 
 Shakespeare's was published with greater care and ability than 
 was Julius Ccesar, and no other play presents fewer difficulties 
 arising from inaccuracies in the original edition. The precise 
 date of its composition is not known, but a conjecture relative 
 thereto, amounting almost to certainty, may be made upon the 
 following grounds: 
 
 External Evidence 
 
 1. Julius Ccesar is not included in Meres'* List of Shakespeare's 
 
 Plays published in 1598. It is, therefore, presumed to 
 have been published at a later date. 
 
 2. Weever'sf Mirror of Martyrs, published in 1601, contains the 
 
 following passage which evidently alludes to Julius Ccesar, 
 and from which it may be argued that the play was writ- 
 ten before 1601. 
 
 The many headed multitude were drawn 
 
 By Brutus' speech, that Caesar was ambitious; 
 
 When eloquent Mark Antony had shown 
 
 His virtues, who but Brutus then was vicious? 
 
 3. Hamlet, written in 1601-2, has the following allusions, 
 
 I did enact Julius Caesar; 
 I was killed in the capitol ; Brutus killed me. — III. ii. 
 
 In the most high and palmy state of Eome, 
 A little ere the mightiest Julius fell, 
 The graves stood tenantless, and the sheeted dead 
 Did speak and gibber in the Eoman streets. — I. i. 
 
 From the evidence of these references as well as from the 
 following internal evidence, commentators have concluded that 
 Julius Ccesar was composed in 1600. 
 
 * Meres, Francis, born 1565 ; died 1647. An English divine and author, 
 t Weever, John. Born 1576 ; died 1632. An English poet and antiquary. 
 
INTRODUCTION 23 
 
 Internal Evidence 
 The plays which are generally recognized as belonging to the 
 years 1601-3 are: Hamlet, 1601-2; Twelfth Night, 1601; All's 
 Well That Ends Well, 1601-2 ; and Measure for Measure, 1603. 
 Of these plays Hamlet most closely resembles Julius Ccesar in 
 tone of thought, style, versification, plot, and in treatment of 
 character. The apparent reasons for these similarities are : 
 
 1. Both plays are tragedies of thought rather than of action. 
 
 2. Each is the tragedy of an individual who feels that he has 
 
 a duty to perform, but who finds himself unequal to the 
 task. The thoughts of the noble Brutus tend too much 
 toward idealism and abstract right; the sensitive and 
 philosophic Dane turns his thoughts ever too much inward. 
 
 3. Much of the action and development of character in each play 
 
 turns upon a murder — the murder of Hamlet's father, 
 and the assassination of Csesar — and in each tragedy the 
 spirit of the murdered man plays an important part in 
 unfolding the plot. 
 
 4. Revenge and Destiny, the mystery of life and death, super- 
 
 stition and religion, are dealt with in both plays. 
 The opinion held by Malone,* Drake, f Skottowe,$ Fleay,§ 
 Knight, 1 1 and others that Julius Ccesar was composed about the 
 same time as were Antony and Cleopatra and Coriolanus, 1607-8, 
 is not tenable, apparent internal evidence to the contrary not- 
 withstanding. 
 
 VII. STRUCTURE OF THE PLAY 
 
 Just as every complete action has its cause, growth, height, 
 consequence, and close, so a perfect drama has five component 
 parts. These are the Opening Movement, Growth, Height or 
 
 * Malone, Edmund. Born at Dublin 1741 ; died 1812. An Irish literary critic 
 and Shakespearean scholar. „,.,,,. 
 
 t Drake, Nathan. Born 1766 ; died 1836. An English physician and author. 
 
 X Skottowe, Britiffe Constable. Born 1857. An English historian. 
 
 § Fleay. Rev. Frederick Gard. An English author ; began writing in 1857 ; 
 
 || Knight, Charles, Born, England, 1791 ; died 1873. An English publisher 
 and author. 
 
24 JULIUS CESAR 
 
 Climax, Fall, and Close or Catastrophe. In addition to these 
 five parts there is frequently a sixth, the Introduction or Expo- 
 sition, containing, as it were, the end or circumstance from which 
 the action arises. 
 
 In Julius Ccesar the First Scene is of an introductory nature. 
 
 1. The Opening Movement lies in the Second Scene of the First 
 
 Act, in the meeting of Brutus and Cassius. 
 
 2. The Growth embraces everything between the Opening and 
 
 the Climax, and includes the progress of the Conspiracy 
 and the presentation of Caesar's character. 
 
 3. The Climax is the death of Caesar, and it is essential that it 
 
 be made especially manifest. 
 
 4. The Fall embraces the events between the Ides of March and 
 
 the battle of Philippi. The interest in the play is kept 
 alive by the references of Octavius to the spirit of Caesar, 
 and by the appearance of Caesar's ghost. 
 
 5. The Catastrophe is a consequence of the action itself. The 
 
 battle of Philippi is the result of Caesar's assassination, 
 and the defeat of Brutus and Cassius, and their suicide 
 have been prepared for by the development of their char- 
 acters throughout the play, and by the manifestations of 
 the Cesarean power. 
 
 Vin. TWO VIEWS OF THE PLAY 
 
 (a) As a Political Play 
 
 The central idea of the play, considered politically, is the 
 decay of republicanism in Rome and the rise of Caesarism. In 
 the First Scene the populace give unconscious evidence of the 
 growing spirit of monarchy. This they manifest when they cry 
 out in the Third Act : 
 
 Let him be Caesar. 
 
 Caesar's better parts 
 Shall now be crown 'd in Brutus. 
 
INTRODUCTION 25 
 
 The nation is calling for a representative in whom it may 
 put supreme and unlimited confidence. Roman imperialism 
 began under Julius Caesar, and assumed definite form in the 
 absolute military monarchy of his grand-nephew, Octavius Au- 
 gustus. 
 
 " Nothing did so much to set the people in love with royalty, 
 both name and thing, as the reflection that their beloved Caesar, 
 the greatest of their national heroes, the crown and consum- 
 mation of Roman genius and character, had been murdered 
 for aspiring to it. . "We can all now see, what he alone 
 
 saw then, that the great social and political forces of the Roman 
 world had long been moving and converging irresistibly to that 
 end. . . . The great danger of the time lay in struggling 
 to keep up a republic in show, when they already had an em- 
 pire in fact." — Hudson* 
 
 (o) As a Tragedy of Character 
 
 The central idea of the play considered as a tragedy is that 
 Good cannot come out of Evil. "Brutus is noble, wise, valiant, 
 and honest," but he made shipwreck of his life by one great 
 error. He committed a crime to prevent, as he thought, a 
 greater crime, and by so doing he brought upon himself and 
 his country greater evils than those he had sought to avert. 
 
 "The stain of assassination adheres to Brutus, a crime 
 which no political duty, no apposite duty whatever, can out- 
 weigh. This stain cleaves closer to the 'lover' of Caesar than 
 to Caesar's personal enemy, Cassius, and to him, therefore, to 
 Caesar's good angel, the spirit of the murdered man subse- 
 quently appears, as his evil and revenge-announcing genius." 
 — GervinusA 
 
 * Hudson, Henry Norman, born at Cornwall, Vermont, 1814 ; died 1886. An 
 American Shakespearean scholar. 
 
 t Gervinus, Georg Gottfried, born at Darmstadt, Germany, 1805 ; died 1871. A 
 German critic and Shakespearean writer. 
 
26 JULIUS CAESAR 
 
 IX. POINTS OF CONTRAST BETWEEN THE ENGLISH AND THE ROMAN 
 HISTORICAL PLAYS 
 
 Speaking generally, the Roman plays are more truly trage- 
 dies than are the English historical plays. They conform more 
 closely to Aristotle 's rules of dramatic art. The Roman tragedies 
 are complete, each in itself. The English historical plays are 
 linked together in close and exact succession so as to form one 
 great whole. Shakespeare followed Plutarch more closely than 
 he did Holinshed, his authority for the English plays. 
 
 "The theme of the English historical plays is the success 
 and the failure of men to achieve noble, practical ends. . . . 
 Success in the visible material world, the world of noble posi- 
 tive action, is the measure of greatness in the English historical 
 plays. . . . But in the tragedies, the men who fail are not 
 necessarily less worthy of admiration than the men who suc- 
 ceed. . . . Octavius is successful. Yet, we should rather 
 fail with Brutus. Prosperity or adversity in the material world 
 is here a secondary affair." — Dowden.* 
 
 X. SOURCE OF THE PLAY 
 
 Historical Authority 
 
 The source from which Shakespeare derived the materials 
 for Julius CcBsar is Sir Thomas North 'sf translation of Plu- 
 tarch' s% Lives. The first edition of North's translation ap- 
 peared in 1579 and the second, in 1595. 
 
 Julius Ccesar is an admirable example of Shakespeare's fac- 
 ulty for transforming history into drama and prose into poetry, 
 without changing the original narrative in any important de- 
 gree. The poet has adhered with wonderful fidelity to the ac- 
 counts which he found in Plutarch. 
 
 * Dowden, Edward, born at Cork, Ireland, 1843. A British critic and poet. 
 t North, Sir Thomas ; 16th Century. An English translator. 
 t Plutarch. Born A.D. 46. A Greek historian. 
 
INTRODUCTION 27 
 
 ' ' Shakespeare, ' ' says Archbishop Trench,* "has thrown a 
 rich mantle of poetry over all, which is often wholly his own; 
 but of the incident there is almost nothing which he does not 
 owe to Plutarch, even as continually he owes the very wording 
 to Sir Thomas North." 
 
 Departures from Historical Fact 
 
 Shakespeare's departures from Plutarch do not affect the 
 substantial truth of the account. They fall naturally under 
 two heads, "Departures from Historical Facts" and "Charac- 
 ter Digressions." 
 
 Of the departures from historical fact the most important 
 only are given : 
 
 1. Caesar's triumph in the first scene is made to take place on 
 
 the same day as the festival of the Lupercalia, February 
 15th, 44 b. c. ; in history the triumph takes place four 
 (some historians say six) months earlier than the festival, 
 October, 45 b. c. 
 
 2. According to Shakespeare, Caesar is killed in the Capitol; in 
 
 Plutarch the assassination takes place in Pompey's senate- 
 house. 
 
 3. In the play the death of Cassar, the funeral speeches, and 
 
 the arrival of Octavius in Rome all take place on the 
 same day; in Plutarch the speech of Brutus is given on 
 the morning after the assassination, that of Antony two 
 days later. Octavius was in the city of Apollonia, in 
 Illyria, when Caesar was slain. He did not land in Italy 
 until the following May. 
 
 4. In Shakespeare the meeting of the triumvirate takes place 
 
 in Eome; according to Plutarch the triumvirs meet "by 
 the city of Bononia, where they continue three days to- 
 gether. ' ' 
 
 * Trench, Richard Chevenix. Born Dublin, Ireland, 1807 ; died 1886. An 
 English prelate, philologist, and poet. 
 
28 JULIUS C^SAR 
 
 5. Shakespeare represents the two battles of Philippi as taking 
 place on the same day; in Plutarch there is an interval 
 of twenty days between them. 
 These departures from historical fact resulted in confining 
 the action of the play within narrower limits than historical 
 accuracy required. By limiting to one day actions which were 
 in reality spread over several days, Shakespeare avoided the 
 dramatic error of scattering the events over a longer period 
 than the time of action demanded. Narrowing the limitation 
 of time necessarily involved the contraction of place. The 
 scenes of the action are Kome, Sardis, Philippi. Nothing would 
 have been gained, and something of unity would have been 
 sacrificed, had another scene, Bononia, been introduced. Dra- 
 matic art especially requires that only the essential aspects of 
 realities be reproduced. 
 
 XI. THE TITLE OP THE PLAY 
 
 It has often been asserted that this play should have been 
 called " Brutus, " and not "Julius Caesar." The reason for 
 this is that Caesar appears on the stage only three times and 
 upon these occasions he does nothing worthy of a great hero. 
 
 To this it may be replied : 
 
 1. Although Caesar is not the hero of the play in the sense in 
 
 which Brutus is, yet he is the moving spirit and the 
 subject of the drama. 
 
 2. Although he is assassinated in the First Scene of the Third 
 
 Act, his influence continues after his death. 
 
 3. Shakespeare never allows this influence to be lost sight of. 
 
 The name of Caesar occurs eighty-nine times after the 
 assassination, and he reappears on the stage in the per- 
 son of his ghost, which, as Dr. Dowden says, ' ' serves as a 
 kind of visible symbol of the vast posthumous power of 
 the dictator." 
 
INTRODUCTION 29 
 
 4. The play illustrates the triumph of Caesarism over repub- 
 
 licanism and of that spirit, which, in the Fifth Act, calls 
 forth from Brutus the testimony, 
 
 O Julius Caesar, thou art mighty yet! 
 
 5. Caesar's spirit lived on in his grand-nephew, Octavius, 
 
 through whom the prophecy of Antony over the body 
 of Caesar was fulfilled. (See III. i. 270.) 
 
 6. Finally, to quarrel with the poet for not calling the play 
 
 "Brutus" would be as absurd as to quarrel with Milton 
 for not calling his immortal epic "Satan" instead of 
 "Paradise Lost." 
 
 XII. ON CHARACTERIZATION 
 
 Adherence to the fundamental rules of dramatic art con- 
 tributes more to the excellence of a play than does the observ- 
 ance of the Unities of Time, Place, and Action. The principal 
 rules by which a dramatist is guided may be called the laws of 
 Distinctiveness, Contrast, Consistency, and Effectiveness. 
 
 1. Distinctiveness. It is a primary requisite of the drama that 
 
 every man should be represented according to his gov- 
 erning passion. His distinctive characteristics should be 
 marked early, e. g., Brutus' patriotism, Caesar's ambi- 
 tion, Cassius' envy, and Antony's lewdness. 
 
 2. Contrast. Nothing marks character more clearly than does 
 
 the use of contrast. Thus Cassius is a foil to Brutus, 
 Antony to Octavius, etc. 
 
 3. Consistency. Characters may be complex to any degree, but 
 
 they must not be inconsistent with themselves. 
 
 4. Effectiveness. A character should be effective with regard 
 
 to the dramatic action, and the conduct of the play should 
 seem to spring from the natures of the chief charac- 
 ters. Thus the assassination of Caesar results from the 
 haughty bearing and excessive ambition with which 
 Shakespeare has chosen to endow him. The principal 
 
30 JULIUS CiESAR 
 
 characters should predominate, and minor characters 
 
 should not idly intrude. 
 A careful study of the different historical plays of Shake- 
 speare will disclose the fact that when the poet has made changes 
 from the historical view of the character of any of his dramatis 
 personae, such changes usually tend toward a closer adherence 
 to the foregoing principles, and the result is a gain in dramatic 
 effect. 
 
 Xm. CHARACTER INTERPRETATION 
 
 In judging the characters of the dramatis personae, the 
 student may be guided by the advice of the following eminent 
 critics : " If , " says Coleridge, * ' you take only what the friends 
 of the character say, you may be deceived, and still more so if 
 that which his enemies say ; nay, even the character himself sees 
 himself through the medium of his character, and not exactly as 
 he is. Take all together, not omitting a shrewd hint from the 
 clown or the fool, and perhaps your impression will be right; 
 and you may know whether you have in fact discovered the 
 poet's own idea, by all the speeches receiving light from it, and 
 attesting its validity by reflecting it." 
 
 "It is in what I called portrait painting, delineating of men 
 and things, especially of men, that Shakespeare is great. All 
 the greatness of the man comes out decisively here. It is un- 
 exampled, I think, that calm creative perspicacity of Shake- 
 speare. The thing he looks at reveals not this or that face of it, 
 but its inmost heart and generic secret; it dissolves itself as in 
 light before him, so that he discerns the perfect structure of it. ' ' 
 — Carlyle* 
 
 "His characters are like watches with dial-plates of trans- 
 parent crystal; they show you the hour like others, and the in- 
 ward mechanism is also visible." — GoetheA 
 
 * Carlyle, Thomas, born ii» Scotland, 1795 ; died, 18S1. A celebrated Scottish 
 essayist and historian. f^^m 
 
 t Goethe, Johann Wolfgj^^Pvon, horn at Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1749 ; died, 
 1832. A famous German po^^dramatist, and prose writer. 
 
INTRODUCTION 31 
 
 XIV. CHARACTERS OP THE PLAY 
 
 Julius CcBsar 
 
 Shakespeare's Caesar is not the Caesar of history. The poet 
 presents only such traits of his hero's character as are suited 
 to the dramatic exigencies of the play and many of these traits 
 are far from being admirable. He portrays him as physically 
 weak and intellectually vacillating, inordinately ambitious, cow- 
 ardly, superstitious, and vainglorious; while in reality he was 
 one of the greatest soldiers, statesmen, and scholars that ever 
 adorned the pages of history. " Caesar, " says Hudson,* "is far 
 from being^himself in these scenes ; hardly one of the speeches 
 put into his mouth can be regarded as historically character- 
 istic; taken altogether, they are little short of a downright 
 caricature, and when he speaks, it is very much in the style of 
 a glorious vaporer and braggart, full of lofty airs and mock- 
 thunder. ' ' His greatness and his military genius are but lightly 
 touched upon, being but involuntarily acknowledged by the 
 tribunes in the First Scene, when they berate the plebeians for 
 doing honor to Caesar, and strewing flowers 
 
 in his way 
 That comes in triumph over Pompey 's blood. — I. i. 53. 
 
 In the play he shows neither the modesty nor the quiet self- 
 confidence that usually accompanies true greatness; rather his 
 wisdom is consumed in confidence." The position to which he 
 has been exalted, the never-failing adulation with which he is 
 surrounded, the success he has achieved, the flattery that has 
 been his portion — all this has left its mark upon him, so that 
 he already regards himself as a god, and speaks of himself in 
 the third person as though deified while yet alive: "Caesar is 
 tujn'd to hear," I. ii. 17; "Caesar shall forth," II. ii. 10; 
 isar doth not wrong," III. i. 47; and 
 
 am 5 
 
 * See note, page 25. 
 
 i 
 
32 JULIUS CJESAR 
 
 Danger knows full well 
 That Caesar is more dangerous than he. — II. ii. 44. 
 
 The Caesar of Shakespeare has become most susceptible to 
 flattery, but this love of flattery must be skillfully worked upon 
 or not at all. " Low-crook 'd court 'sies, and base spaniel- 
 fawning" (III. i. 43), move him not. But Decius knows him 
 and in this speech discloses the secret of his successful flattery : 
 
 But when I tell him that he hates flatterers, 
 
 He says he does, being then most flattered. — II. i. 207. 
 
 Decius further knows how to work upon his ambition and 
 superstition. He turns to his own account Calpurnia's dream, 
 by which Caesar had been undoubtedly disturbed. According 
 to the interpretation of Decius, it 
 
 Signifies that from you great Rome shall suck 
 
 Reviving blood, and that great men shall press 
 
 For tinctures, stains, relics and cognizance. — II. ii. 87. 
 
 His ambition is but faintly sketched in the play, but we find 
 several evidences of his superstition. He begs Mark Antony 
 "to touch Calpurnia" at the Lupercalia, in order that she may 
 thereafter bring forth children, and he attaches weight to the 
 advice of augurers. Cassius doubts if Caesar will attend the 
 meeting of the senate, 
 
 For he is superstitious grown of late, 
 
 Quite from the main opinion he held once 
 
 Of fantasy, of dreams, and ceremonies. — II. i. 195. 
 
 Shakespeare misses no opportunity of bringing into prom- 
 inence the physical weaknesses of Caesar. He represents him 
 as feeble in health, subject to fits and swooning, deaf of one 
 ear, and even inferior in powers of endurance to the spare Cas- 
 sius, by whom he was once worsted in a swimming contest. 
 
 That Shakespeare thoroughly understood and admired the 
 greatness of Caesar's character, however, — while exaggerating 
 
INTRODUCTION 33 
 
 and-empliasizing his physical and intellectual weaknesses as a 
 dramatic expedient, — is evident from various passages in the 
 play: 
 
 Thou art the ruins of the noblest man 
 
 That ever lived in the tide of times. — III. i. 257. 
 
 Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils, 
 Shrunk to this little measure? — III. i. 150. 
 
 Further proof that Shakespeare did not underestimate the true 
 greatness of Caesar may be found in such passages from other 
 plays as, "the mightiest Julius," Hamlet; "broad-fronted 
 Caesar," Antony and Cleopatra; "there is no more such 
 Caesars," Cymbeline; "conquering Caesar," Henry V; "death 
 makes no conquest of this conqueror," Richard III. 
 
 A description of Shakespeare's Caesar would be imperfect 
 without some reference to the "spirit of Caesar," or "Caesar- 
 ism. " It is of this spirit that Brutus is thinking when he says : 
 
 O, that we then could come by Cassar 's spirit, 
 And not dismember Caasar. — II. i. 169. 
 
 It is this magic influence that makes Caesar's body 
 
 the ruins of the noblest man, 
 That ever lived in the tide of times. — III. i. 257. 
 
 and of which Antony prophesies: 
 
 And Caesar's spirit, ranging for revenge, 
 
 With Ate by his side come hot from hell, 
 
 Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice 
 
 Cry ' l Havoc ! ' ' and let slip the dogs of war. — III. i. 271. 
 
 Dr. Dowden* quotes from Antony's speech after having first 
 remarked: "This bodily presence of Caesar is but of sec- 
 ondary importance, and may be supplied, when it actually 
 passes away, by Octavius as its substitute. It is the spirit of 
 Caesar which is the dominant power of the tragedy; against 
 this — the spirit of Caesar — Brutus fought ; but Brutus, who for- 
 
 * See note, page 26. 
 
34 JULIUS CJESAR 
 
 ever errs in practical politics, succeeded only in striking down 
 Caesar's body; he who had been weak now rises pure in spirit, 
 strong and terrible, and avenges himself upon the conspirators. 
 The contrast between the weakness of Caesar's bodily presence 
 in the first half of the play, and the might of his spiritual pres- 
 ence in the latter half of the play, is emphasized and perhaps 
 over-emphasized by Shakespeare," and he adds: "The ghost 
 of Caesar (designated by Plutarch only the 'evil spirit' of 
 Brutus), which appears on the night before the battle of 
 Philippi, serves as a kind of visible symbol of the vast post- 
 humous power of the Dictator." — Shakespeare, His Mind and 
 Art. 
 
 The Brutus of Shakespeare 
 
 Patriotism is the most prominent trait in the character of 
 Brutus,, and identical with his patriotism is his love of repub- 
 licanism. For generations his family had been renowned in 
 Rome for its republican spirit. His "ancestors did from the 
 streets of Rome the Tarquin drive, when he was called a king." 
 Upon this theme Cassius continually harps when he wishes to 
 gain Brutus over to the cause of the conspirators. ' ' There was 
 a Brutus once," etc., he reminds him in I. ii. 159. Ligarius 
 addresses him as "Soul of Rome," and recalls his honorable 
 ancestry, II. i. 321. (His motto is "Peace, freedom, and lib- 
 erty," III. i. 110, /and the reason he assigns for the part he took 
 in the murder of Caesar is\ "Not that I loved Caesar less, but 
 that I loved Rome more," III. ii. 23. {He believes there can be 
 no man "so vile, that will not love his country," III. ii. 36. An- 
 tony testifies to the patriotism of Brutus, and this testimony has 
 the greater weight from the fact of its being the evidence of an 
 opponent : 
 
 All the conspirators, save only he, \ 
 
 Did that they did in envy of great Caesar; \ 
 
 He only, in a general honest thought 
 
 And common good to all, made one of them. — V. v. 69-72. 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 55 
 
 ' Brutus is noble and patriotic, sitting ' ' high in all the people 's 
 hearts;" yet his cause is a failure^ To his idealism must be 
 attributed much of his want- of success. /He lacks the art of 
 adapting means to an end.\ Jle is a philosopher rather than a 
 man of action $ a theorist, 1 and a lover of books,} but quite im- 
 practical.) He would "come by Caesar's spirit, and not dis- 
 member Caesar." Other equally impossible measures he at- 
 tempts, with consequences disastrous alike to himself and to his 
 party. yTo the rabble, excited by blood, he philosophizes; he 
 cannot see that republicanism is dead in Rome, that the people 
 want a Caesar. /(Nor can he see that his fellow-conspirators are 
 envious of the one man great enough to wear the crown) 
 
 (Closely connected with his idealism is his gentleness] This 
 quality shows itself in his intercourse with everyone, but par- 
 ticularly with his wife, "dear to me as are the ruddy drops 
 that visit my sad heart," and with his little attendant, Lucius. 
 \£o these two qualities, his idealism and his gentleness, we may 
 look for the cause of three, at least, of his four great errors i (1) 
 his refusal that Antony be slain with Caesar ;\ (2) /his consent 
 that Antony speak at Caesar's funeral;) (3) his refusal to over- 
 look the offense of Lucius Pella; (4) his decision, against 
 Cassius' better judgment, to "put all to the hazard of battle as 
 soon as might be possible." 
 
 (The admiration of Shakespeare for this kindly, gentle, ideal- 
 ist is best shown by the eulogium that he puts into the mouth of 
 Antony : 
 
 His life was gentle, and the elements 
 
 So mix 'd in him that Nature might stand up, 
 
 And say to all the world, ' ' This was a man ! ' ' — V. v. 73. 
 / 
 
 ( Brutus belongs to the Stoic school of philosophy, founded 
 by Zeno, which held that pleasure and pain are independent 
 of outward circumstances and are of no significance in them- 
 selves; that a life virtuously spent insures perpetual happi- 
 
36 JULIUS C7ESAK 
 
 ness; that the wise man cannot really meet with misfortune; 
 and that virtue is to be cultivated for its own sake. Such is 
 the philosophy by which he had ordered his early life ; but this 
 does not sustain him through the trials and dangers of his later 
 years. Even before the assassination he loses something of his 
 wonted calmness, and cannot conceal his anxiety from his wife. 
 His quarrel with Cassius shows that he has become peevish, 
 petulant, and subject to fits of ill temper. He confesses that 
 he is "sick of many griefs, " upon which Cassius remarks: 
 
 Of your philosophy you make no use, 
 
 If you give place to accidental evils. — IV. iii. 145. 
 
 But when Cassius learns that to Brutus' other trials is added 
 the "insupportable and touching loss" of his wife Portia, he 
 is filled with admiration and amazement at the stoical patience 
 and endurance of his brother-in-law. Although Brutus still 
 retains so much of the philosophy of his younger days that he 
 finds it "cowardly and vile" to anticipate his natural death 
 by suicide, yet he cannot live up to his lofty ideal and "go 
 bound to Rome." His self-inflicted death shows tjiat human 
 considerations of honor and the fear of shame were for him a 
 religion more binding than the philosophical creed he had cul- 
 tivated. 
 
 Mark Antony, in his famous oration, modestly declares him- 
 self to be "no orator as Brutus is," and the student of the 
 play is thus sometimes led to regard Brutus as the type of 
 an excellent orator. Such, however, is not the case. On the 
 contrary, Antony is an orator ; Brutus is not.) ( The speech of 
 Brutus makes no deep impression upon his audience ; J ahe re- 
 sistless eloquence of Antony takes a^l ears captive.) Antony 
 effects his purpose ; Brutus does not. f Brevity and logical pre- 
 cision are the chief characteristics of his speech, and it is only 
 when under the influence of some strong emotion that he is 
 eloquent, as when he forbids the oath, II. i., or when he bids 
 
INTRODUCTION 37 
 
 his fellow-conspirators stoop and bathe their hands in Caesar's 
 blood, III. i. ; 
 
 Hatred of the very name of king and dread of tyranny are 
 firmly rooted in his nature, but the reasoning by which he argues 
 the danger to be apprehended from Cassar is very weak. He 
 admits that Caesar is no tyrant, but there is a possibility that 
 sovereignty may "change his nature," and " therefore, ' ' he 
 says, he must 
 
 think him as a serpent's egg, 
 Which, hatch 'd, would, as his kind, grow mischievous ; 
 And kill him in the shell. — II. i. 32. 
 
 Such is the erroneous argument by which Brutus arrives at the 
 conclusion that Caesar must be killed. 
 
 "While the conqueror of the world is thus in some degree 
 thrown into the shade, Brutus, the favorite of the poet, is 
 brought forward, not only adorned with all the virtues attrib- 
 uted to him by Plutarch, but, in order to excite a deeper in- 
 terest in his favor, and to prove that not jealousy, ambition, 
 or revenge, but unalloyed patriotism was the sole director of 
 his conduct, our author has drawn him as possessing the utmost 
 sweetness and gentleness of disposition, sympathizing with all 
 that suffer, and unwilling to inflict pain but from motives of 
 the strongest moral necessity. He has most feelingly and beau- 
 tifully painted him in the relation of a master, a friend, and a 
 husband; — his kindness to his domestics, his attachment to his 
 friends, and his love for Portia demonstrating that nothing but 
 a high sense of public duty could have induced him to lift his 
 hand against the life of Caesar. 
 
 ' ' It is this struggle between the humanity of his temper and 
 his ardent and hereditary love of liberty, now threatened with 
 extinction by the despotism of Caesar, that gives to Brutus that 
 grandeur of character and that predominancy over his asso- 
 ciates in purity of intention, which secured to him the admira- 
 tion of his contemporaries, and to which posterity has done 
 
38 JULIUS CiESAR 
 
 ample justice through the medium of Shakespeare, who has 
 placed the virtues of Brutus, and the contest in his bosom 
 between private regard and patriotic duty, in the noblest light; 
 wringing even from the lips of his bitterest enemy the fullest 
 eulogium on the rectitude of his principles and the goodness 
 of his heart/ ' — Drake* 
 
 "And what a rare significance attaches to the brief scene of 
 Brutus and his drowsy boy, Lucius, in camp a little before the 
 catastrophe ! There, in the deep of the night, long after all the 
 rest have lost themselves in sleep, and when the anxieties of 
 the issue are crowding upon him — there we have the earnest, 
 thoughtful Brutus hungering intensely for the repasts of treas- 
 ured thought: 
 
 Look, Lucius, here's the book I sought for so; 
 I put it in the pocket of my gown. — IV. iii. 253-4. 
 
 What the man is, and where he ought to be, is all signified 
 in these two lines. And do we not feel a touch of benignant 
 irony in the implied repugnance between the spirit of the man 
 and the matter of his present undertaking ? The idea of a book- 
 worm riding the whirlwind of war! The thing is most like 
 Brutus; but how out of his element, how unsphered from his 
 right place, it shows him ! There is a touch of drollery in the 
 contrast, which the richest setting of poetry does not disguise." 
 — Hudson.\ 
 
 Brutus in History 
 
 Brutus was named after his father, who was treacherously 
 put to death by Pompey during the civil wars. His mother was 
 Servilia, sister of Cato of Utica. At the time of his father's 
 death, Brutus was eight years old. Shakespeare has, for the 
 most part, portrayed Brutus as he is represented in history, but 
 has neglected to refer to the generous treatment he received at 
 
 * See note, p. 23. f See note, p. 25. 
 
INTRODUCTION 39 
 
 the hands of Caesar after the battle of Pharsalia. Although 
 Brutus had espoused the cause of Pompey, Caesar pardoned him \ 
 after his victory and subsequently appointed him to the gov- 
 ernorship of Cisalpine Gaul, little thinking that the Komans 
 of future generations would have reason to weep as they read 
 the words of the poet Pacuvius, "I spared him that he might 
 kill me. ' ' Brutus wrote several philosophical treatises and some 
 poetry, but nothing of his writings has survived. He combined 
 with these tastes the incongruous occupation of a money-lender, 
 Cicero being amongst his clients. Plutarch (Skeat's* Ed. p. 
 129) writes that Brutus, "for his virtue and valiantness, was 
 well beloved of the people and his own, esteemed of noblemen, 
 and hated of no man, not so much as his enemies; because he 
 was a marvellous lowly and gentle person, noble-minded, and 
 would never be in any rage, nor carried away with pleasure 
 and covetousness, but had ever an upright mind with him, and 
 would never yield to any wrong or injustice ; the which was the 
 chiefest cause of his fame, of his rising, and of the good-will 
 that every man bare him : for they were all persuaded that his 
 intent was good. ' ' 
 
 The Cassius of Shakespeare 
 
 Cassius is the opposite of Brutus in almost every respect. 
 He is envious of Caesar's greatness, and personally hates him. 
 Consequently he has a keen eye for his defects, but none for 
 his virtues. He regards himself as Caesar's equal, if not in- 
 deed his superior, and he cannot submit to occupy a position in- 
 ferior to that held by Rome 's idol. Comparing his own physical 
 strength with that of Caesar, he wonders why 
 
 this man 
 Is now become a god; and Cassius is 
 A wretched creature, and must bend his body, 
 If Caesar carelessly but nod on him. — I. ii. 115. 
 
 * Skeat, Walter William, born at London, 1835. A noted English philologist 
 
40 JULIUS C^ESAB 
 
 He cannot endure that a man of such feeble constitution should 
 "bear the palm alone." His envious disposition is written in 
 his face: 
 
 Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look. — I. ii. 194. 
 
 Caesar knows no man more to be avoided than "that spare 
 Cassius," for experience has taught him that 
 
 Such men as he be never at heart's ease 
 
 Whiles they behold a greater than themselves. — I. ii. 208. 
 
 Cassius is the originator, the organizer, and the soul of the 
 conspiracy. He has great ability, is quick to act, and ready to 
 take advantage of every opportunity. Furthermore, he has the 
 ability of impressing others. He knows human nature and 
 knows that there are few "so firm that cannot be seduced." 
 He uses the right arguments to win Brutus, and he cleverly 
 controls Casca and the other conspirators. With respect to the 
 points upon which he clashes with Brutus he is always politi- 
 cally, though not morally, right. That there is a nobler side to 
 Cassius' nature is evident from the fact that he recognizes and 
 admires the lofty ideals and purity of character of Brutus, and 
 is ennobled by contact with him. After the quarrel, Brutus 
 addresses him as "noble, noble Cassius," IV. iii. 234, and upon 
 seeing his dead body pays him this tribute : 
 
 The last of all the Romans, fare thee well! 
 
 It is impossible that ever Rome 
 
 Should breed thy fellow. Friends, I owe moe tears 
 
 To this dead man than you shall see me pay. 
 
 I shall find time, Cassius, I shall find time. — V. iii. 99. 
 
 By inclination and education Cassius is an Epicurean, hold- 
 ing that the gods exercise no influence upon the world or man, 
 attaching no credit to omens and portents, and believing in no 
 existence beyond the grave. Happiness or peace of mind — to 
 be acquired only as the result of a virtuous life — is, according 
 
INTRODUCTION 41 
 
 to his philosophy, the end of all human exertions. He appears 
 also to have cultivated to some extent the philosophy of the 
 Stoics, but he is of too excitable a temperament to make their 
 rigorous philosophy the rule of his life. Like Brutus, he changes 
 many of his philosophical theories toward the close of his career. 
 Just before the battle of Philippi, feeling a premonition of his 
 approaching death, he says to Messala: 
 
 You know that I held Epicurus strong, 
 
 And his opinion: now I change my mind, 
 
 And partly credit things that do presage. — V. i. 79. 
 
 His death was dignified, "after the high Eoman fashion.' ' 
 The "wreath of victory" for which he struggled in vain during 
 his life was awarded him in death, 
 
 O setting sun, 
 As in thy red rays thou dost sink to-night, 
 So in his red blood Cassius ' day is set. — V. iii. 60. 
 
 Cassius in History 
 
 Shakespeare has contrived to present a more favorable por- 
 trait of Cassius than history warrants. He has made but slight 
 reference to his vindictiveness, cruelty, and tyranny, and has 
 given the utmost effect to the fire and energy which charac- 
 terized him. We read in Plutarch that ' ' men reputed him com- 
 monly to be very skillful in wars, but otherwise marvellous 
 choleric and cruel, who sought to rule men by fear rather than 
 by lenity;" that he was "a hot, choleric, and cruel man that 
 would oftentimes be carried away from justice for gain, of whom 
 it was certainly thought that he made war and put himself into 
 sundry dangers, more to have absolute power and authority 
 than to defend the liberty of his country." Plutarch contrasts 
 the clemency of Brutus toward the Lycians with the extreme 
 covetousness and oppression of Cassius toward the inhabitants 
 of Ehodes, and relates that "after he had compelled the 
 
42 JULIUS CJESAR 
 
 Rhodians, every man, to deliver all the ready money they had 
 in gold and silver in their houses, the which, being brought to- 
 gether, amounted to the sum of eight thousand talents: yet he 
 condemned the city besides to pay the sum of five hundred 
 talents more.'' 
 
 Contrast Between Brutus and Cassius 
 
 11 The leading distinctions between these two remarkable 
 men, as drawn by Shakespeare, appear to us to be these : Brutus 
 acts wholly upon principle; Cassius partly upon impulse. 
 Brutus acts only when he has reconciled the contemplation of 
 action with his speculative opinions; Cassius allows the neces- 
 sity of some action to run before and govern his opinions. 
 Brutus is a philosopher; Cassius is a partisan. Brutus, there- 
 fore, deliberates and spares ; Cassius precipitates and denounces. 
 Brutus is the nobler instructor; Cassius the better politician." 
 — Knight* 
 
 "The difference between his nature and the character of 
 Brutus comes out on every occasion: Brutus appears through- 
 out just as humanly noble as Cassius is politically superior; 
 each lacks what is best in the other, and the possession of which 
 would make each perfect." — GervinusA 
 
 Mark Antony in Shakespeare 
 
 Antony possesses many and varied features of character, 
 the more attractive of which are due to the conception of the 
 poet, whilst the more repugnant belong to his real historical 
 character. 
 
 Brutus sees only the worst side of Antony's character, and 
 speaks of him with contempt as a man not to be seriously con- 
 sidered, "gamesome," "given to sports, to wildness and much 
 company," "who can do no more than Caesar's arm when 
 Caesar's head is off," and makes the two great mistakes of allow- 
 
 * See note, p. 23. t See note, p. 25. 
 
INTRODUCTION * 43 
 
 ing him to outlive Caesar and to speak in Caesar's funeral. 
 Caesar commends him for his love of plays and music; Cassius 
 reproaches him with being ' ' a masker and reveller. ' ' His volup- 
 tuousness and selfishness are fully brought out in Antony and 
 Cleopatra, where Shakespeare has, with no uncertainty, pointed 
 to those characteristics which were destined ultimately to prove 
 the cause of his ruin. His treatment of Lepidus, whom he 
 proposes to use first for his own purpose and then 
 
 turn him off, 
 Like to the empty ass, to shake his ears 
 And graze in commons. — IV. i. 25 
 
 is the essence of selfishness; whilst his conduct in connection 
 with the proscription shows that tendency to cruelty which is 
 the dominant feature of his character. But Shakespeare, in 
 the play, has dwelt rather on the more attractive side of his 
 nature. 
 
 His devotion to Caesar is prominently set forth. Cassius 
 wisely fears "the ingrafted love he bears to Caesar.' ' Even 
 in the presence of his enemies there is nothing feigned in the 
 emotion he shows upon the death of his master. Live a thou- 
 sand years, he says, 
 
 I shall not find myself so apt to die: 
 
 No place will please me so, no mean of death, 
 
 As here by Caesar, and by you cut off, 
 
 The choice and master spirits of this age. — III. i. 160. 
 
 To the genuine fidelity and attachment to Caesar which Antony 
 shows in this scene must be attributed much of the moving 
 effect of his eloquent funeral oration. 
 
 He is a man of great ability, but little fixity of purpose. 
 At one time he is cunning and secretive; at another outspoken 
 and bold. Cassius understands him, and with reason dreads 
 his power: 
 
 You know not what you do: do not consent 
 That Antony speak in his funeral. — III. i. 232. 
 
44 JULIUS CJESAR 
 
 But Cassius allowed himself to be overruled by Brutus. An- 
 tony's speech in the Forum is one of the finest specimens of 
 eloquence in the English language. Although subservient to 
 the will of Caesar and obedient to the beck and nod of Octavius, 
 he has no respect for men of only moderate abilities who cannot 
 act upon their own initiative. For such a man as Lepidus, who 
 "must be taught, and trained, and bid go forth," he has nothing 
 but contempt. Unprincipled and unscrupulous though he be, 
 he admires the noble qualities of Brutus. 
 
 In Antony and Cleopatra, Shakespeare exhibits the fully de- 
 veloped character of Antony, adopting Plutarch's opinion that 
 his love for Cleopatra "did waken and stir up many vices yet 
 hidden in him, and were never seen to any: and if any spark 
 of goodness or hope of rising were left him, Cleopatra quenched 
 it straight and made it worse than before." In this play, An- 
 tony, clever, dashing, and reckless, a magnificent debauchee with 
 flashes of greatness, gives himself up to voluptuousness and 
 subjugates his reason to his passions. Honor and ambition are 
 forgotten in the pursuit of pleasure. He trifles away his man- 
 hood and becomes "the abstract of all faults that all men fol- 
 low." 
 
 Antony in History 
 
 Marcus Antonius, the triumvir, born about 83 b. c, was the 
 grandson of a distinguished orator of the same name, and the 
 son of Julia, the sister of Julius Caesar. In his youth he in- 
 dulged in every kind of dissipation. As a soldier he served with 
 distinction in Syria, 58 b. c, in Palestine, 57-56 b. c, and in 
 Gaul, 54-51 b. c. He was one of Caesar's most active partisans, 
 and commanded the left wing at the battle of Pharsalia, 48 b. c. 
 In 44 b. c. he was consul with Caesar, and after the murder of 
 the latter he endeavored to succeed him, but found a formidable 
 rival in Octavius, by whom he was defeated at Mutina, 43 b. c. 
 After this battle the rivals were reconciled and an agreement 
 
INTRODUCTION 45 
 
 was made by which Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus should, as 
 triumvirs, divide the government of the Eoman State for five 
 years. In 42 b. c. Octavius and Antony crushed the republican 
 party at Philippi. Antony then went to Asia, where he became 
 a captive to the charms of Cleopatra, but for political reasons 
 he married Octavia, the sister of Octavius. After the renewal 
 of the Triumvirate in 37 b. c. he surrendered himself entirely to 
 the allurements of Cleopatra. At Actium, in 31 b. c, he was 
 finally crushed by Octavius, and accompanied by Cleopatra, he 
 fled to Alexandria, where, in the following year, 30 b. c, he put 
 an end to his life. Previous to the period of his mad infatua- 
 tion for Cleopatra he was a sagacious and skillful leader, fearless 
 in danger and cheerful under the utmost privations. Among 
 his soldiers he distributed presents in land and money with a 
 prodigal lavishness, which made him their idol. His few redeem- 
 ing virtues, however, were far outweighed by his degrading 
 vices, which had their culmination in the inhuman persecution 
 and death of Cicero. He successively deserted his two wives, 
 Fulvia and Octavia, and, according to Plutarch, was "to the 
 most part of men cruel and extreme." 
 
 Contrast Between Antony and Brutus 
 
 Brutus, the Stoic, is honorable and unselfish, self-controlled, 
 indifferent to amusement and pleasure, acting always upon prin- 
 ciple, ready to give his life for his country; Antony, the lover 
 of pleasure, is a man of loose morals and a gamester, artful and 
 cruel, incapable of self-control, but showing occasional glimpses 
 of greatness. Brutus is no politician, yet his strong character 
 controls that of the unprincipled Cassius; Antony, an adept 
 in all the arts of politics, finds himself obliged to submit silently 
 to the stronger will of Octavius. Antony must always have some 
 one upon whom to depend ; Brutus causes others to depend upon 
 him when they ought to depend upon themselves. 
 
 "How low does this man (Antony) sink when, contrasted 
 
46 JULIUS OESAR 
 
 with Brutus' unselfishness, patriotism, mild forbearance, and 
 saving of blood, we see the triumvir subsequently indifferent to 
 the fate of his political enemies, altering to the prejudice of the 
 people that will of Caesar with which he had roused them to 
 revolt, using Lepidus as a beast of burden, and himself silently 
 submitting to the young Octavius! And yet we must confess 
 that even this wretch, on the score of humanity, recommends 
 himself to us beside the corpse of Caesar more than even the noble 
 Brutus. ' ' — Gervinus* 
 
 Octavius in Shakespeare 
 
 Octavius is the dark and crafty politician, who steps in at 
 the opportune moment to reap where he did not sow. A great 
 reserve of power is hidden behind the calm exterior of the 
 beardless schoolboy. He says little during the conference of 
 the triumvirs as they arrange the details of the proscription, 
 but what he does say is to the point, and he imposes his will 
 upon his older and more experienced associates. 
 
 Oct. Your brother too must die; cousent you, Lepidus? 
 
 Lep. I do consent — 
 
 Oct. Jot him down, Antony. — IV. i. 2. 
 
 Plutarch says "he never spake unto the senate nor peo- 
 ple, nor to his soldiers, but he had first written and premeditated 
 that he would say unto them,' , and it is this aspect of his 
 character that Shakespeare presents in the play. He grows 
 impatient as he listens to the abusive language and recrimina- 
 tions of the other generals on the plains of Philippi, and cuts 
 them short with, 
 
 Come, Antony, away! 
 Defiance, traitors, hurl we in your teeth: 
 If you dare fight to-day, come to the field; 
 If not, when you have stomachs. — V. i. 63. 
 
 * See note, p. 25. 
 
INTEODUCTION 47 
 
 He is cool and calculating, and takes the lead in every situation 
 in which he is called upon to act. Although young and inex- 
 perienced in wars, by comparison with Antony, he, nevertheless, 
 takes the post of honor. 
 
 Ant. Octavius, lead your battle softly on 
 
 Upon the left side 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. — V. i. 16. 
 
 And afterwards, although his forces have been overthrown by 
 Brutus, he assumes the position of sole commander. 
 
 So call the field to rest; and let's away, 
 
 To part the glories of this happy day. — V. v. 80. 
 
 Octavius in History (62 b. c. — a. d. 42) 
 
 An account of the life of Octavius — or, to give him his full 
 title, Caius Julius Caesar Octavianus Augustus, the first Roman 
 Emperor — would embrace the history of the Roman Empire dur- 
 ing sixty of its most eventful years. It will suffice to quote the 
 following passage from Schmidt,* in which he sums up the char- 
 acter of the first emperor : ' ' Previously to his victory at Actium, 
 he had been cruel, faithless to his friends, selfish, and in many 
 instances cowardly: after that event his fears compelled him 
 to seek the affection and confidence of the people, and, supported 
 by his friends, he learned to appear good, even when he was 
 differently inclined. But, admitting that none of his good 
 actions sprang from a noble soul, and that his whole life was 
 a series of hypocrisies, still it cannot be denied that the character 
 which he was obliged to assume in order to gain his end was 
 the source of incalculable benefit both to Rome and to the world 
 at large." — It was during his reign that Christ was born. 
 
 * Schmidt, Henrich Julian, born at Merienwerder, Prussia, 1818 ; died, 1886 
 A German literary historian and journalist. 
 
48 JULIUS CJESAR 
 
 Contrast Between Octavius and Antony 
 
 The young Octavius was cold-blooded, far-seeing, politic ; the 
 older man, Antony, possessed a more complex character, and a 
 much more passionate temperament. The cruelty as well as the 
 generosity of Octavius was calculated to secure whatever end 
 he had in view; Antony was more passionately cruel, but much 
 more naturally lavish and generous. With Octavius, hypocrisy 
 became almost second nature, while Antony was only occasion- 
 ally a dissembler from necessity. Octavius took a practical, 
 Antony, an aesthetic, view of life. Octavius was the more suc- 
 cessful man, Antony the more picturesque character. 
 
 Lepidus 
 
 The weak character of Lepidus is a strong contrast to the 
 more powerful natures of the two other triumvirs. He appears 
 as an active character in one scene only, IV. i., where he goes 
 to Caesar's house to "fetch the will hither. "~ He is stigmatized 
 by Antony as "a slight unmeritable man, meet to be sent on 
 errands," "a barren-spirited fellow," who "must be taught, and 
 train 'd, and bid go forth," 
 
 one that feeds 
 On objects, arts, and imitations, 
 Which, out of use and staled by other men, 
 Begin his fashion. — IV. i. 36. 
 
 "Do not talk of him," says the elder triumvir, "but as a 
 property." He reappears in Antony and Cleopatra, where as 
 a good-natured simpleton, he strives to keep the peace between 
 Octavius and Antony, and continues to be used as a tool by both. 
 Octavius reproaches him with being "too indulgent" to the 
 vices of Antony, and "having made use of him in the wars 
 'gainst Pompey, presently denied him rivality; would not let 
 him partake in the glory of the action," (Antony and Cleopatra, 
 
INTRODUCTION 49 
 
 III. v. 8) and deposes him from the triumvirate, and sends him 
 to live in retirement under strict surveillance until his death. 
 In history he plays much the same part as he does in the 
 drama. On Caesar's assassination he espoused the cause of 
 Mark Antony and gave him protection when he fled after his 
 defeat at Mutina, in 43 b. c. In 36 b. c. Octavius summoned 
 him to assist in the war against Sextus Pompey. Lepidus obeyed, 
 but tired of being treated as a subordinate, he resolved to acquire 
 Sicily for himself, and to regain his lost power. He was easily 
 subdued by Octavius, who spared his life, but deprived him of 
 his triumvirship, his army, and his provinces, and banished him 
 to Circeii. He was fond of ease and repose; yet he possessed 
 abilities capable of effecting much more than he did. He died 
 13 b. c. 
 
 Portia 
 
 Portia reflects the character of Brutus. Husband and wife 
 possess one mind and one soul. She is his "true and honorable 
 wife," accustomed to share all his thoughts, his pleasures and 
 his griefs. She feels a noble pride in her ancestry and in her 
 husband : 
 
 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 daughter. 
 
 Think you I am no stronger than my sex, 
 
 Being so fathered and so husbanded? — II. i. 292. 
 
 Like her father and her husband she has cultivated stoicism 
 and is able to suffer for others. 
 
 I have made strong proof of my constancy, 
 Giving myself a voluntary wound . . . 
 Can I bear that with patience, 
 And not my husband's secrets? — II. i. 299. 
 
50 JULIUS (LESAB 
 
 But her philosophy and her self -discipline do not enable her to 
 bear the terrible strain put upon her womanly nature. She can 
 suffer for others better than for herself. Her anxiety and love 
 for Brutus can be kept in bounds by no rules of philosophy. 
 In her impatience to learn the issue of the conspiracy her secret 
 almost overpowers her. She breathes a prayer and a regret : 
 
 constancy, be strong upon my side, 
 
 Set a huge mountain 'tween my heart and tongue! 
 
 1 have a man's mind, but a woman's might. 
 
 How hard it is for women to keep counsel! — II. iv. 6. 
 
 She is the possessor of her husband's secret, and she has dis- 
 covered for herself ' ' how weak a thing the heart of woman is. ' ' 
 The manner of her death shows how her struggle against nature 
 ends in failure. Suspense and overwrought feeling break her 
 heart, and in a paroxysm of madness she commits suicide. 
 Brutus thus relates to Cassius the cause of her death: 
 
 Impatient of my absence, 
 And grief, that young Octavius with Mark Antony 
 Have made themselves so strong; — for with her death 
 That tidings came: with this she fell distract, 
 And, her attendants absent, swallowed fire. — IV. iii. 152. 
 
 The virtues of Portia are alluded to in The Merchant of Venice , 
 where Bassanio describes his Portia as "nothing undervalued 
 to Cato's daughter, Brutus' Portia." 
 
 "Portia, as Shakespeare has truly felt and represented the 
 character, is but a softened reflection of that of her husband, 
 Brutus : in him we see an excess of natural sensibility, an almost 
 womanish tenderness of heart, repressed by the tenets of his 
 austere philosophy; a stoic by profession, and in reality the 
 reverse — acting against his nature by the strong force of prin- 
 ciple and will. In Portia there is the same profound and pas- 
 sionate feeling, and all her sex's softness and timidity held in 
 check by that self-discipline, that stately dignity, which she 
 
INTRODUCTION 51 
 
 thought became a woman 'so fathered, and so husbanded.' The 
 fact of her inflicting on herself a voluntary wound to try her 
 own fortitude is perhaps the strongest proof of this disposition. ' ' 
 — Mrs. Jameson* 
 
 Calpurnia 
 
 Calpurnia is a woman, different in almost every respect from 
 Portia, and Shakespeare presents her as a contrast to the 
 patriot's wife. She is to Caesar a wife, "but as it were in sort 
 or limitation," to comfort him at times, and to dwell "but in 
 the suburbs of his good pleasure." She loves him, it is true, 
 and he does sometimes "humour" her; but in the marriage of 
 Caesar and Calpurnia there is not, as in the case of Brutus and 
 Portia, a real sympathy, wedding heart to heart and mind to 
 mind. She does not, like Portia, share her husband 's ambitions, 
 plans, and secrets. He does not impart to her his fears, and 
 her influence over him is easily overborne by the conspirator 
 Decius. 
 
 Cicero 
 
 Cicero acts an unimportant part in the drama, and, appar- 
 ently he is introduced to afford a contrast to Casca. He is pre- 
 sented as a scholar who speaks Greek and is unintelligible to the 
 crowd. Superstition has no place in his mind, and he is unmoved 
 by the strange occurrences on the night of the storm. He does 
 not believe with Casca that "they are portentous things." To 
 do so, he implies, would be to construe things "clean from the 
 purpose of the things themselves." 
 
 He is represented as a man much respected in Rome. Caesar 
 sends him word that he is going to the Capitol, — I. iii. 37 ; and 
 the conspirators are anxious that he should join them. Brutus, 
 however, will not suffer him to be included in their number, and 
 
 * NSe Anna Brownell Murphy, born in Dublin, 1794 ; died in England in 1860. 
 An extensive writer on art and literature. 
 
52 JULIUS C^SAE 
 
 gives a reason, true to the character of Cicero, but not to be 
 found in Plutarch: 
 
 For he will never follow anything 
 That other men begin. — II. i. 151. 
 
 He died a victim of the proscription. 
 
 Cicero in History 
 
 Cicero is represented in Plutarch as being "the first man 
 that, mistrusting his (Caesar's) manner of dealing in the com- 
 monwealth, found out his craft and malice;" but, although 
 aware of the danger to be apprehended from Caesar's ambition, 
 he was too cautious and too much in fear of the people to seize 
 1 ' the opportunity that offered him against Caesar. ' ' Like Brutus, 
 Cicero bore arms against Caesar at Pharsalia, and, like Brutus, 
 he was pardoned after the battle. As to the reason why Cicero 
 was not included among the number of the conspirators, Plutarch 
 writes as follows: "For this cause they durst not acquaint 
 Cicero with their conspiracy, although he was a man whom they 
 loved dearly, and trusted best; for they were afraid that he, 
 being a coward by nature, and age also having increased his 
 fear, he would quite turn and alter all their purpose, and quench 
 the heat of their enterprise (the which specially required hot and 
 earnest execution), seeking by persuasion to bring all things to 
 such safety as there should be no peril." After the murder of 
 Caesar, Octavius joined himself to Cicero, who, "being at that 
 time the chiefest man of authority and estimation in the city, 
 stirred up all men against Antonius." Consequently, it was to 
 satisfy Antony's desire of vengeance that Cicero suffered death 
 in the proscription by the triumvirs. "With regard to his death, 
 we read that Brutus "was more ashamed of the cause for the 
 which Cicero was slain than he was otherwise sorry for his 
 death." 
 
INTRODUCTION 53 
 
 Casca 
 
 Casca appears first in Caesar's procession as a flatterer and a 
 courtier, calling for silence whenever the dictator speaks, and 
 hanging on his words. He next appears in a character not his 
 own, assuming blunt honesty, feigning stupidity and contempt 
 for the proceedings in which he had just been taking a prominent 
 part. Cassius tells us that he is not really dull, but quick "in 
 execution of any bold or noble enterprise," 
 
 However lie puts on this tardy form. 
 This rudeness is a sauce to his good wit, 
 Which gives men stomach to digest his words 
 With better appetite. — I. ii. 309. 
 
 He is superstitious, and cannot understand Cicero's indiffer- 
 ence to the terrors of the stormy night, which he thus explains : 
 
 Either there is a civil strife in heaven, 
 Or else the world, too saucy with the gods, 
 Incenses them to send destruction. — I. iii. 11. 
 
 He could not hold with men of intellect or science who should 
 say, ' ' These are their reasons ; they are natural. ' ' Cassius, with 
 his usual ability and foresight, seizes upon the moment when 
 Casca is stirred to the very depths of his being by "the strange 
 impatience of the heavens." He works upon his superstition, 
 and includes him in the conspiracy, knowing that he can trust 
 him as a dependent to follow faithfully the lead of others more 
 powerful than himself. ' ' Hold, my hand, ' ' says Casca : 
 
 Be factious for redress of all these griefs, 
 And I will set this foot of mine as far 
 As who goes farthest. — I. iii. 118. 
 
 He depends now upon Brutus and Cassius as he had formerly 
 depended upon Caesar, and, being at the same time physically 
 courageous and most bitterly envious, he is rewarded with the 
 responsible part of being the first to strike at Caesar. 
 
54 JULIUS CJESAB 
 
 Casca in History 
 
 Casca was a tribune of the plebs in 44 b. a, fought in the 
 battle of Philippi in 42, and died shortly after. He was not the 
 uneducated man that Shakespeare represents him ; for Plutarch 
 relates that, at the murder of Caesar, when the victim " cried 
 out in Latin, '0 traitor Casca, what do'st thou?' Casca, on the 
 other side, cried in Greek, and called his brother to help him." 
 
 Publius 
 
 Publius is included among the dramatis persona? as a senator. 
 He is an old man, and at the assassination of Caesar is " quite 
 confounded with this mutiny. ' ' Beyond this he plays no part 
 in the drama. The name does not appear in Plutarch. 
 
 Popilius Lena 
 
 Popilius Lena, another senator, was a friend to Caesar. He 
 unwittingly gave the conspirators reason to fear that their plot 
 was discovered, III. i. 13. The incident is taken almost literally 
 from Plutarch. 
 
 Trebonius 
 
 Trebonius is one of the conspirators. In Plutarch he plays 
 the part which Shakespeare has assigned him. "Trebonius, on 
 the other side, drew Antonius aside, as he came into the house 
 where the senate sat, and held him with a long talk without." 
 Artemidorus would have warned Caesar to "trust not Tre- 
 bonius. ' ' 
 
 In history he played rather a prominent part in the last 
 days of the republic. He was one of Caesar's legates in Gaul, 
 became successively praetor, propraetor, and consul, and after 
 the death of Caesar, pro-consul in the province of Asia. In 43 
 b. c. he was surprised by Dolabella in the town of Smyrna, and 
 slain in his bed. 
 
INTBODUCTTON 55 
 
 Ligarius 
 
 Ligarius is a friend and admirer of Brutus, who styles him 
 " brave Caius" and "my Caius." He is ill, but possesses a spirit 
 which, in the interest of a friend, can make him forget physical 
 pain: 
 
 I am not sick, if Brutus have in hand 
 
 Any exploit worthy the name of honour. — II. i. 316. 
 
 Artemidorus says that Caesar has wronged Ligarius, and Metellus 
 informs the other conspirators that : 
 
 Caius Ligarius doth bear Caesar hard, 
 
 Who rated him for speaking well of Pompey. — II. i. 215. 
 
 He perished with his two brothers in the proscription of 43 b. c. 
 
 Decius Brutus 
 
 Decius Brutus, surnamed Albinus, is one of the most dan- 
 gerous and most ungrateful of the conspirators. According to 
 Plutarch, Caesar put such confidence in him ' ' that in his last will 
 and testament he had appointed him to be his next heir." By 
 his adroit flattery he prevails upon Caesar to attend the senate, 
 when Calpurnia's persuasions and his own fears would have kept 
 him away. 
 
 History tells us that after the death of Caesar Decius went to 
 his province, Cisalpine Gaul, which he refused to surrender to 
 Antony, who had obtained it from the people. In 43 b. c. he was 
 betrayed by Camillus, a Gaulish chief, and was put to death 
 by Antony. 
 
 Metellus Cimber 
 
 Metellus Cimber 's attitude toward Caesar is like that of 
 Decius Brutus — humble and flattering. 
 
 In history his true name is Lucius Tillius Cimber; but 
 
56 JULIUS CAESAR 
 
 Shakespeare is following Plutarch when he calls him Metellus. 
 After the assassination he went to his province of Bithynia and 
 raised a fleet, with which he rendered service to Cassius and 
 Brutus. 
 
 Cinna 
 
 Cinna is one of the earliest of the conspirators to join with 
 Cassius in his plot against Caesar's life. He is so hated by the 
 people that in their frenzy they slay Cinna, the poet, mistaking 
 him for the conspirator. 
 
 Flavins and Marullus 
 
 Flavius and Marullus are tribunes who oppose Caesar after 
 his victory at Munda over the sons of Pompey. They possess 
 considerable influence with the citizens, whom they compel to 
 "vanish tongue-tied in their guiltiness." They were deprived 
 by Caesar of their tribuneships, or, as Casca has it, ' ' for pulling 
 scarfs off Caesar's images, are put to silence.' ' 
 
 Artemidorus 
 
 Artemidorus of Cnidus, a teacher of rhetoric, endeavors 
 vainly to warn Caesar against his impending danger. Plutarch 
 says he was "a doctor of rhetoric in the Greek tongue, who, by 
 means of his profession, was very familiar with certain of 
 Brutus' confederates, and therefore knew the most part of all 
 their practices against Caesar." 
 
 Cinna, the Poet 
 
 Cinna, the poet, who was slain for his namesake, Cornelius 
 Cinna, enjoyed considerable renown during his lifetime. He 
 was a tribune of the plebs, and a friend of Catullus. His prin- 
 cipal work was an epic poem entitled "Smyrna." 
 
INTRODUCTION 57 
 
 Lucilius 
 
 Lucilius was a friend of Brutus, whom he strove to shield 
 by impersonating him at the battle of Philippi. Antony says 
 of him : "I had rather have such men my friends than enemies, ' r 
 and after the battle takes him into his service. He remained 
 with Antony, ''and was very faithful and friendly unto him 
 till his death." 
 
 Titinius 
 
 Titinius was "one of Cassius' chief est friends," who fought 
 with him at the battle of Philippi. He was greatly attached 
 to his master, and slew himself over his body. He is included in 
 the eulogium of Brutus : 
 
 Are yet two Eomans living such as these? 
 
 Messala 
 
 Messala was a friend of Brutus and Cassius. At Philippi he 
 "had charge of one of the warlikest legions they had." After 
 the battle he took refuge in the island of Thasos. Finally he 
 became Octavius' friend, "fought valiantly, and with great 
 affection" for him at Actium. In addition to being a soldier, 
 he was a patron of learning and the arts, a historian, a poet, a 
 grammarian, and an orator. 
 
 Young Cato 
 
 Young Cato was the son of the famous Stoic of the same 
 name. (See note, Act V. iv. 172.) He died at the battle of 
 Philippi, bravely proclaiming: 
 
 I am the son of Marcus Cato, ho! 
 
 A foe to tyrants, and my country's friend. — V. iv. 4. 
 
 Volumnius 
 
 Volumnius was ' ' a grave and wise philosopher, who had been 
 with Brutus from the beginning of this war." They had been 
 
58 JULIUS CiESAR 
 
 at school together, and Brutus speaks of ' ' our love of old. ' ' He 
 refuses to help Brutus commit suicide on the ground that 
 ""that's not an office for a friend/ ' 
 
 Lucius 
 
 ( i 
 
 And what a dear little fellow Lucius is! — so gentle, so 
 dutiful, so loving, so thoughtful and careful for his master; 
 and yet himself no more conscious of his virtue than a flower 
 of its fragrance. ' ' — Hudson* 
 
 The Citizens 
 
 The citizens and commoners are represented by Shakespeare 
 as a somewhat mean-spirited crowd, easily swayed this way and 
 that. They are fickle and irrational, possessing little of that 
 spirit of freedom that characterized their ancestors. Childish in 
 their love of shows and spectacles, their sympathies are readily 
 moved, and they are formidable only when their deepest passions 
 are aroused. 
 
 "Yet their feelings are in the main right, and even their 
 judgment in the long run is better than that of the pampered 
 Roman aristocracy, inasmuch as it proceeds more from the 
 instincts of manhood. Shakespeare evidently loved to play with 
 the natural, unsophisticated, though somewhat childish heart of 
 the people ; but his playing is always genial and human-hearted, 
 with a certain angelic humor in it that seldom fails to warm us 
 towards the subject. ' ' — Hudson. 
 
 XV. HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION IN CONNECTION WITH 
 ROMAN HISTORY 
 
 Julius Caesar was born in 100 b. c, of an old Roman family, 
 the Julia Gens. 
 
 * See note p. 26. 
 
INTEODUCTION 59 
 
 The origin of the name Caesar is doubtful. According to 
 some it is a name which was applied to a certain member of the 
 Julian tribe, who was remarkable on account of the abnormal 
 growth of hair with which he was afflicted. (Sanscrit, kesa, hair; 
 Lat., caesaries.) But it has come to mean in various languages 
 the holder of despotic power. 
 
 Sulla, the champion of the Optimates, or well-to-do classes, 
 died in 78 b. a, and Caesar, who had been learning the art of war 
 in the East, returned to Rome to take part in political and civil 
 affairs. His progress in the attainment of honors and power 
 was rapid. In 68 b. c. he became Quaestor at the early age of 
 thirty-two. 
 
 In 65 b. c. he was elected iEdile, in which office he gained the 
 applause of the people by the magnificence of his shows and 
 entertainments. In 63 b. c. he became Pontifex Maximus. In 
 62 b. c. he obtained the Praetorship. 
 
 The power of Pompey, "whom alone of all their champions 
 the Romans had distinguished by the appellation of the Great," 
 was now at its zenith. His ' ' rapid conquests in Asia could only 
 be paralleled by those of the Macedonian Alexander."* "The 
 conqueror of nations, the founder of nine and thirty cities, what 
 opposition could be made to any claims he might choose to 
 advance?"! In 61 b. c. Pompey returned from the East, and 
 of the pageant by which his return was celebrated, we read: 
 1 ' Never had the Sacred Way seen such a triumph as that which 
 Pompeius celebrated on September 28th and 29th of the year 
 61 B. a Clad in a robe which once belonged to Alexander the 
 Great, he led three hundred and twenty-four captive princes, 
 princesses, and captains to the Temple of Capitoline Jupiter." 
 
 In 60 b. c. Caesar returned from Spain with a princely for- 
 tune and formed with Pompey and Crassus the First Trium- 
 
 * Merivale, History of the Romans Under the Empire. (Merivale, Charles, 
 born, 1808 ; died, 1893. An English divine, lecturer, and Roman historian.) 
 
 t Horton, A History of the Romans. (Horton, Robert Forman, born at Lon- 
 don, 1855. An English clergyman and author.) 
 
60 JULIUS 03ESAR 
 
 _ 
 
 virate. The influence and wealth of these three "monarchs" 
 rendered them all-powerful in Rome. 
 
 Caesar was elected Consul in 59 b. c, and became the recog- 
 nized leader of the popular party at Rome. He forced upon the 
 senate an Agrarian Law, which assigned estates to a large num- 
 ber of citizens and to the Pompeian veterans. Cato, a rigid 
 republican, descended from Cato the Censor, a name long held 
 in veneration for probity and simplicity, opposed the law in vain. 
 The consistent advocate of old republican virtue, whose spirits 
 rose with danger, exerted himself with impetuous energy, and 
 had to be dragged from the rostrum by the orders of Caesar. 
 Cicero also opposed the act in the senate so far as he dared. 
 
 At the end of this year, 59 b. a, Caesar, as Pro-Consul, 
 acquired the command of Gaul, and held it for ten years. In 
 order to retain his political power in Rome he gave his daughter 
 Julia in marriage to Pompey, and himself took, for his third 
 wife, Calpurnia, the daughter of the Consul-elect, Lucius Cal- 
 purnius Piso. Of the famous Gallic Campaign only one incident 
 need here be mentioned. 
 
 In 57 b. c. Caesar with his legions was preparing to encamp 
 upon a hill descending with a gentle slope to the Sambre. The 
 Nervii, a Belgic tribe of German descent, lay concealed in a wood 
 hard by. As soon as they saw the Roman army standing before 
 them, ignorant of their proximity, they rushed from their place 
 of concealment and made an impetuous charge upon the legions. 
 Caesar was taken by surprise, but proved himself equal to the 
 emergency. He exposed himself personally in combat. "With 
 buckler and broadsword he fought amongst the foremost, and 
 his men were fired with that indescribable personal enthusiasm 
 which afterwards turned them from Romans into Caesareans. ' '* 
 The imminent defeat was turned into a victory. The senate, 
 unable to stem the torrent of popular acclamation, granted him 
 
 * Horton. (See note, p. 59.) 
 
INTBODUCTION (Jl 
 
 the unprecedented honor of a thanksgiving of fifteen days for 
 his brilliant successes in Gaul. 
 
 On June 9th, 53 b. c, Crassus, one of the Triumvirate, was 
 treacherously murdered in Parthia, and Cassius became com- 
 mander of the Roman forces. 
 
 In 52 b. c, Pompey was named sole Consul in Rome, which 
 city at that time was in a state bordering on anarchy. Becom- 
 ing jealous of Caesar's growing influence, he gradually attached 
 himself to the senatorial party. Of these two illustrious com- 
 petitors for power it was said that Pompey could bear no equal, 
 Caesar, no superior. 
 
 In 49 b. c. Caesar was declared a public enemy by the senate. 
 On January 15th of that year he crossed the Rubicon, a little 
 stream which divided his province, Gaul, from Italy. This was 
 an explicit declaration of war. ' ' At the first blast of his trump- 
 ets every obstacle fell before him. ' '* Even before he had time to 
 bring up his legions, the chiefs of the senate had evacuated Rome. 
 Pompey secretly left the capital and abandoned Italy to the 
 conqueror. Caesar was made Dictator, and held the office till 
 his death. The victory of Ilerda (mod. Lerida) secured Spain 
 in 48 b. c. 
 
 This year saw the rout of the Pompeian forces at Pharsalia. 
 Pompey himself fled, and was shortly afterwards murdered at 
 Alexandria. 
 
 In 46 b. c v Caesar was invested with the title of Imperator for 
 life. On hearing of Caesar 's victory at Thapsus, Cato committed 
 suicide — "the gravest philosopher Rome had yet produced. " 
 Mommsen's History of Rome.j 
 
 The victory which Caesar gained at Munda over Cneius, the 
 son of Pompey, on March 15th, 45 b. a, finally crushed the 
 
 * Merivale. (See note, p. 59.) 
 
 f Mommsen, Theodor, born at Schleswig, 1817. A celebrated German his- 
 torian. 
 
62 JULIUS CAESAR 
 
 Porapeian party. In October he celebrated his fifth and last 
 great triumph.* 
 
 The possession of the new office of Imperator gave him all 
 the power of a king, and he began to assume the state and visible 
 symbols of monarchy. He now "very judiciously connected him- 
 self with Servius Tullius. . . . From ancient times there 
 stood on the Capitol the statues of those seven kings whom the 
 conventional history of Rome was wont to bring on the stage; 
 Caesar ordered his own to be erected beside them as the eighth. ' ' 
 
 He appeared publicly in the purple robe of the traditional 
 kings of Alba, with a crown of laurel upon his head. The image 
 of the monarch appeared on Roman coins. He was regarded in 
 his lifetime as a demigod, and was worshipped as such. He 
 received "sitting on his golden chair, and without rising from 
 it, the solemn procession of the senate. . . . Several, indeed, 
 of his most vehement adherents suggested to him in different 
 ways, and at different times, that he should assume the crown ; 
 most strikingly of all, Marcus Antonius, when he as Consul 
 offered the diadem to Caesar before all the people. But Caesar 
 rejected these proposals without exception at once."f This hap- 
 pened at the festival of the Lupercalia on February 15th, 44 b. c. 
 
 It was at this time that the formidable conspiracy against 
 Caesar's life began to take definite shape. Cassius was the 
 originator of it, but he was soon joined by Decius Brutus, 
 Publius, Casca, Metellus Cimber, Caius Trebonius, and no fewer 
 than sixty — or according to some, eighty — others. With the 
 exception of Cicero, almost all the survivors of the Optimate 
 party were concerned in it, and, almost without exception, the 
 conspirators were men who had received honors and promotion 
 at the hands of Caesar. They wisely secured for their project 
 
 * Caesar's other triumphs were given him for his victories : 1. Over the Nervii 
 in Gaul, 57 B. C. 2. Over Ptolemy in Egypt, 48 B. C. 3. Over Pharnaces at Zola 
 in Pontus, 47 B. C. 4. Over Juba at Thapsus in Numidia, 46 B. C. These four 
 triumphs were celebrated on four successive days in June, 46 B. C. 
 
 f Merivale. (See note, p. 59.) 
 
INTRODUCTION 63 
 
 the cooperation of Brutus, who traced his descent from a sup- 
 posed third son of that Brutus who, according to the legend, 
 drove the Tarquin kings from Kome, and with grim patriotism 
 condemned to death two of his own sons for sympathizing with 
 the exiled family. 
 
 "As long as Caesar remained at Rome his fearless demeanor 
 exposed him to the daggers of assassins, for he had dismissed the 
 guard which had at first surrounded him, and he appeared 
 daily in the Forum and the Curia with no other attendance than 
 that of friends and casual visitors."* 
 
 The conspirators assembled early, and repaired in a body 
 to the portico of Pompey's theater, adjacent to the hall assigned 
 for the meeting of the senate. Decius Brutus overcame Caesar's 
 disinclination to attend the meeting of the senate, and he passed 
 for the last time in a litter from his house near the Temple of 
 Vesta, through the Forum to the theatre of Pompey. The con- 
 spirators performed their terrible act just as Shakespeare has 
 described it, and "in the evening three slaves came to the 
 deserted Curia and carried that imperial body home to Calpurnia 
 in the litter in which he had come in the morning, the autocrat 
 and lord of the Western World. ' ' t 
 
 Caesar was the leader of the popular party, and monarch 
 though he was, in fact if not in name, he was none the less a 
 democrat. This is a fact which should not be lost sight of by 
 the student of history. Among the politicians of the day Caesar, 
 alone, perhaps, was conscious of the corruptness existing in 
 Rome, and the desire of his life was to avert a military despotism. 
 But "Fate is mightier than genius. Caesar desired to become 
 the restorer of the civil commonwealth, and became the founder 
 of the military monarchy which he abhorred; he overthrew the 
 regime of aristocrats and bankers in the state only to put a mili- 
 tary regime in their place. "J 
 
 * Merivale. (See note, p. 59.) $ Mommsen. (See note, p. 61.) 
 
 f Horton. (See note, p. 59.) 
 
64 julius c^hsar 
 
 The assassination of Caesar was a political blunder. The 
 fabric of the republic had long been tottering to its fall, and 
 Caesar was the one man who could have built upon the old 
 foundation a solid and stable government. His death involved 
 the state in fresh struggles and civil wars for many years, until 
 in the end it fell under the supremacy of Augustus, who estab- 
 lished a monarchy far more despotic than that which the so-called 
 "liberators" had attempted to avert. 
 
 "His talents for war were, perhaps, the highest the world 
 has ever witnessed; his intellectual powers were almost equally 
 distinguished in the closet, the Forum, and the field: his vir- 
 tues, the very opposite to those of Cato, have been not less justly 
 celebrated . . . equally capable of commanding men and of 
 courting them, of yielding to events and of moulding them, he 
 maintained his course firmly and fearlessly, without a single 
 false step till he attained the topmost summit of human power. ' ' 
 
 Marcus Brutus and Cassius fled to their provinces — Mace- 
 donia and Syria — and Decius Brutus to Cisalpine Gaul, leaving 
 Antony master of the situation. 
 
 Caesar's grand-nephew and heir, Octavius, being then but 
 eighteen years old, at once sailed from Apollonia to Italy. He 
 arrived at Rome in May, 43 b. c, and assumed the name of 
 Caius Julius Caesar Octavius. 
 
 In June he was at open enmity with Antony. Cicero had 
 become a strong supporter of Octavius and delivered his 
 immortal Philippics against Antony, making at the same time 
 almost superhuman efforts to revive the republican spirit in 
 Rome. At first it seemed as though he would be successful. The 
 armies of Brutus in Macedonia and Cassius in Syria were gain- 
 ing victories, and Antony was beaten by Octavius in Northern 
 Italy. But these successes were only temporary. "The tie 
 created by the dead Caesar was stronger than the tie created by 
 dying Rome."* 
 
 * Horton. (See note, p. 59.) 
 
INTRODUCTION 55 
 
 In October, Octavius, Lepidus, and Antony held a confer- 
 ence at Bononia, modern Bologna, Italy, on an islet in the river 
 Rhenus (Reno), and agreed to divide the empire amongst them- 
 selves. Octavius took Africa, Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica; 
 Antony, Cisalpine Gaul, the Northern and central parts of Trans- 
 alpine Gaul; Lepidus, Spain and Southern Gaul. 
 
 Their first care was to rid themselves of troublesome 
 opponents. "The associates, thus prepared for the work of 
 slaughter, sate with a list of the noblest citizens before them, 
 and each in turn wrote the name of him whom he destined to 
 perish. Each claimed to be ridded of his personal enemies, and 
 to save his own friends. But when they found their wishes clash, 
 they resorted without compunction to mutual concessions."* 
 Octavius surrendered Cicero to Antony's hatred; Antony in 
 return surrendered his uncle, Lucius Ca3sar ; and Lepidus aban- 
 doned to the malice of his colleagues his own brother, Paulus 
 ^Emilius. The list of the proscribed gradually swelled to three 
 hundred senators and two thousand knights. 
 
 Cicero's name is said to have stood first on the bloody list. 
 He was assassinated on December 7, 43 b. c. 
 
 "The acts of horror and inhuman cruelty perpetrated at 
 that time by the brutal murderers, who were actuated by 
 revenge, avarice, and malice, surpass even the horrors committed 
 in France during the Revolution in the days of Robespierre, 
 Danton and Mar at." t 
 
 Brutus and Cassius were in Asia engaged in the plunder of 
 Rhodes and Xanthus when Antony pushed his forces through 
 Macedonia into Thrace. On their arrival at Philippi they found 
 the passes barred against them. They occupied two hills facing 
 the city of Philippi to the southeast, their left flank resting on 
 the sea. Brutus was on the right and Cassius on the left, their 
 
 * Merivale. (See note, p. 59.) 
 
 t Schmidt's History of Rome. (See note, p. 47.) For Robespierre, Danton, 
 and Marat see History of French Revolution^ 
 
66 JULIUS CiESAR 
 
 double camp being connected by a long line of rampart. Their 
 fleet, which should have been at hand, was in the Western seas. 
 The armies engaged on either side exceeded in numbers those 
 engaged in any previous battle — the Republican army number- 
 ing 120,000 legionaries, that of the triumvirs, 80,000. To main- 
 tain such a force in the field, Brutus and Cassius had been 
 obliged to exhaust the supplies of the different places through 
 which they passed. Cassius wished to retreat upon Asia, Brutus 
 insisted on giving battle. 
 
 The first engagement took place very much as Shakespeare 
 has described it, except that Octavius was not present, being 
 kept away by illness, or, as some say, by cowardice. Brutus 
 was victorious over the army of Octavius; he stormed the 
 enemy's camp and cut three legions to pieces. Cassius was 
 beaten by Antony, and, thinking the battle lost and the cause 
 desperate, committed suicide. The first battle was followed by 
 an interval of twenty days, during which the Republican legions, 
 demoralized by the death of Cassius and disorganized by the 
 slackness of Brutus' discipline, gave themselves up to plunder 
 or deserted to the enemy. 
 
 Finally, Brutus was forced to renew the battle. This engage- 
 ment took place on the same ground as did the other. For a time 
 the contest was undecisive and stubborn. After hours of mutual 
 slaughter the forces of Brutus were put to flight. "With four 
 legions he gained a position of security among the hills behind 
 his camp. When, on the following day, he wished to renew the 
 battle, his soldiers sullenly refused to fight. Brutus saw that no 
 hope was left, and to avoid indignity worse than death he slew 
 himself, after exclaiming, "We must fly, indeed, but it must be 
 with our hands, not with our feet." — Plutarch* 
 
 The battle of Philippi was the death-blow of the republic. 
 The battle of Actium which was to follow, 31 b. c, was the crisis 
 
 * See note, p. 26. 
 
INTRODUCTION 67 
 
 of the personal rivalry of Octavius and Antony. The fate of 
 the Roman world was then decided at once and for ever. From 
 that date Caesar reigned supreme in the person of Octavms 
 Julius Caesar Augustus. 
 
 XVI. ROMAN TITLES 
 
 Imperator. The title "imperator" belonged, in the repub- 
 lican period, to the victorious general. Caesar was the first to 
 retain the title after the termination of his generalship. 
 
 Pontifex. The College of Pontifices or priests dated from the 
 time of the kings. At the head of the College was the "Pontifex 
 Maximus," who held the supreme authority in things sacred. 
 Caesar, as Pontifex Maximus, instituted a new order of 
 "Luperci" called "Juliani," of which he made Antony chief 
 priest. 
 
 Augur. The gods of the Romans had their own way of 
 speaking, which was intelligible to the initiated only. The Col- 
 lege of Augurs, sixteen in Caesar's time, was a kind of priest- 
 hood especially skilled in interpreting the language of the gods 
 from the flight of birds, from the inspection of the entrails of 
 slaughtered beasts, and by other mysterious methods. 
 
 Prcetor. The praetors were judicial magistrates for civil or 
 private suits. They were elected annually. Caesar raised the 
 number from eight to sixteen, and the nomination of half of 
 them was in the hands of the imperator in the same way as was 
 the nomination of half the quaestors. Brutus, in 44 b. c, was 
 one of the praetors nominated by Caesar. 
 
 Tribune. The tribunes were plebeian magistrates, elected 
 annually by the plebeian assembly. They possessed the right of 
 veto on a magisterial edict, and their "plebiscita" or laws were 
 binding on all citizens. Among their prerogatives was that of 
 calling the other magistrates to order. Flavius and Marullus 
 were tribunes. 
 
68 JULIUS C^SAR 
 
 XVII. ABSTRACT OF THE PLAY 
 
 Act I, Scene i. The curtain rises upon a busy scene of popu- 
 lar enthusiasm. Roman tradesmen and mechanics are making 
 holiday, and thronging the streets of Rome to see Caesar, and 
 rejoice in his triumph over the sons of his old rival, Pompey. 
 The tribunes, Flavius and Marullus, are indignant that Caesar 
 should triumph over men who were Romans like themselves, and 
 they drive the Commoners from the streets. Taking advantage 
 of the display of popular enthusiasm, Mark Antony three times 
 offers Caesar a kingly crown, which he each time refuses. In 
 the meantime Cassius is busy assembling the conspirators to per- 
 fect their plans for the assassination. 
 
 Act I, Scene ii. Caesar first appears at the head of the pro- 
 cession celebrating the festival of the Lupercalia. (See note 
 I. i. 35, page 164.) A soothsayer bids him "beware the ides 
 of March. ' ' As the procession passes along, Brutus and Cassius 
 remain behind, and Cassius with great skill poisons the 
 mind of Brutus against the dictator. When Caesar with his train 
 passes again, Casca remains to relate to Brutus and Cassius how 
 Antony had thrice offered a crown to Caesar, which he had 
 reluctantly refused. Cassius, alone, congratulates himself on the 
 result of his interview with Brutus. 
 
 Act I, Scene iii. On a night made terrible by thunder 
 and lightning, Casca meets Cicero in the street, and relates the 
 strange sights he has seen. As Cicero hastens away to seek 
 shelter, Cassius appears, and, working upon the already agitated 
 mind of the superstitious Casca, easily induces him to join in 
 the conspiracy against Caesar. Cinna enters, and the three con- 
 spirators take measures to win over Brutus to their party. 
 
 Act II, Scene i. Brutus, alone in his orchard, laments over 
 Caesar's ambition and monarchial tendencies. He decides that 
 Caesar must be killed that Rome may be saved from the 
 
INTRODUCTION 69 
 
 tyranny of a king. The conspirators enter, and are introduced 
 to Brutus. Cassius finally prevails on Brutus to join them, and 
 the details of the plot are discussed. Brutus will not allow 
 Antony to be killed. On the departure of the other conspirators, 
 Portia, Brutus' wife, enters, and, questioning Brutus as to his 
 recent strange behavior, urges upon him her right to share his 
 secrets and his anxieties. Brutus admits Ligarius into the num- 
 ber of the conspirators. 
 
 Act II, Scene ii. In the early morning of the ides of March, 
 Caesar is persuaded by his wife, Calpurnia, and by the warnings 
 of his augurers, not to attend the senate on that day. Decius 
 Brutus, however, enters, and by means of artful flattery, induces 
 Caesar to disregard the entreaties and the fears of his wife. The 
 other conspirators and Antony come to escort Caesar to the 
 senate-house. 
 
 Act II, Scene iii. Artemidorus reads a paper warning Caesar 
 of his fate. This he hopes to present to the dictator as he passes 
 him in the street. 
 
 Act II, Scene iv. Portia, to whom Brutus has imparted his 
 secret, finds the burden of anxiety and suspense so difficult to 
 bear that she almost faints in her effort to suppress her natural 
 feelings. 
 
 Act III, Scene i. Caesar, disregarding all warnings, enters 
 the senate-house, the conspirators and others following. Metellus 
 Cimber makes humble suit to Caesar for the recall of his brother 
 from banishment. The other conspirators also intercede for him. 
 Caesar arrogantly refuses to hear them. The conspirators then 
 assassinate Caesar and proclaim "Peace, freedom, and liberty.' ' 
 Antony, who had fled during the confusion, asks and receives 
 permission to converse with them in safety. On seeing Caesar's 
 corpse he is filled with the deepest sorrow, which he nobly 
 expresses. After feigning reconciliation with Caesar's mur- 
 derers, he obtains permission from Brutus to speak at Caesar's 
 funeral. On the departure of the others he prophesies civil war 
 
70 JULIUS CAESAR 
 
 and vengeance on the conspirators. The approach of Octavius 
 Caesar is announced. 
 
 Act III, Scene ii. Brutus, in a well-reasoned speech, tells 
 the citizens why he who loved Caesar slew him ; the citizens wish 
 to crown Brutus in the place of Caesar. Antony follows, and in 
 an oration by turns persuasive, eloquent, and fiery, stirs up these 
 same citizens to mutiny and rage against the murderers. 
 Octavius enters Rome, and, at the same time, Brutus and Cassius 
 flee from the city. 
 
 Act III, Scene iii. The citizens in their fury slay Cinna, the 
 poet, mistaking him for his namesake, Cinna, the conspirator. 
 
 Act IV, Scene i. The triumvirs, Antony, Octavius, and 
 Lepidus, draw up a list of those who are to be put to death by 
 their proscription. Lepidus is used as a tool by the other two. 
 
 Act IV, Scene ii. The scene changes from Eome to the camp 
 of Brutus and Cassius near Sardis. Brutus and Cassius meet; 
 each complains of wrongs suffered at the hands of the other. 
 
 Act IV, Scene iii. Their quarrel becomes intense. Cassius 
 at last offers his life to Brutus, and a reconciliation takes place. 
 They pledge their mutual love in wine, and Brutus tells Cassius 
 of Portia's death. Together with Titinius and Messala, they 
 discuss their plans for the future, and, against Cassius' better 
 judgment, they decide to give battle at once. After the retire- 
 ment of the others, Brutus begins to read. Caesar's ghost 
 appears and tells him that he will see him again at Philippi. 
 
 Act V, Scene i. Octavius and Antony, at Philippi, prepare 
 to take the field. A parley between the opposing generals results 
 only in fierce denunciations. Brutus and Cassius converse on 
 the subject of suicide, and determine what to do in the event of 
 defeat. They take a touching leave of each other. 
 
 Act V, Scene ii. Brutus gives the word of battle too early. 
 
 Act V, Scene iii. Cassius is defeated, and, thinking Titinius 
 captured and all lost, is, by his own request, stabbed by his bond- 
 
INTEODUCTION 71 
 
 man Pindarus. Titinius slays himself over Cassias' body. 
 Brutus pronounces a eulogy over the two Romans. 
 
 Act V, Scene iv. Young Cato dies bravely in the front of 
 the battle. Lucilius, declaring himself to be Brutus, yields, and 
 is taken to Antony, who discovers the deception. 
 
 Act V, Scene v. Brutus, defeated, appeals unsuccessfully to 
 several of his friends to put an end to his life. At length he 
 induces Strato to hold his sword whilst he himself runs upon it, 
 and dies with the words on his lips: "Caesar, now be still: I 
 kill'd not thee with half so good a will." Octavius and Antony 
 enter with their army. Antony utters a noble tribute of praise 
 over Brutus' body. Octavius calls the field to rest, and with 
 Antony goes away — 
 
 To part the glories of this happy day. 
 
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JULIUS CAESAR. 
 
 Sramatts $?v&tm&. 
 
 Julius Cesar. 
 
 OCTAVIUS CdESAR, 
 
 Marcus Antonius, 
 M.^Emilius Lepidus 
 
 } triumvirs 
 aUer the 
 death 
 of Julius 
 Ccesar 
 Cicero, *] 
 
 Publius, ^senators. 
 
 Popilius Lena. J 
 Marcus Brutus, 
 Cassius, 
 
 Casca, conspirators 
 
 Trebonius, against 
 
 Ligarius, \ Julius Caesar 
 
 Decius Brutus, 
 Metellus Cimber, 
 
 ClNNA. 
 
 Flavius and Marullus, tribunes. 
 Artemidorus of Cnidus, a teacher 
 
 of Rhetoric. 
 A Soothsayer. 
 Cinna, a poet. Another Poet. 
 
 Lucilius, 
 Titinius, 
 
 Messala, 
 Young Cato, 
 Volumnius. 
 
 >friends to Brutus and 
 Cassius. 
 
 Varro, 
 
 Clitus, 
 
 Claudius, 
 
 Strato, 
 
 Lucius, 
 
 Dardanius. 
 
 servants to Brutus. 
 
 Pindarus, servant to Cassius. 
 Calpurnia, wife to Ccesar. 
 Portia, wife to Brutus. 
 Senators, Citizens, Guards, Attend- 
 ants, etc. 
 
 Scene: Rome: the neighbourhood of 
 Sardis: the neighbourhood of Philippi. 
 
 ACT I. 
 
 Scene I. Rome. A Street. 
 
 Enter Flavius, Marullus, and certain Commoners. 
 Flav. Hence! home, you idle creatures, get 
 you home: 
 Is this a holiday? What! know you not, 
 Being mechanical 2 , you ought not 3 walk 
 Upon a labouring 4 day without the sign 
 Of your profession ?* Speak, what trade art thou? 
 
 plebeians, 
 citizens 
 
 ^mechanics 
 3 sc. to 
 forking 
 
 * I. e. your working clothes and your tools. But it was a custom rather of 
 Shakespeare's own time and not any law of the Romans that is referred to here. 
 
 73 
 
74 
 
 JULIUS CLESAR 
 
 [Act I 
 
 J 
 
 First Com. 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. Truly, sir, in respect of 1 a fine 10 
 workman, I am but, as you would say, a 
 cobbler.* 
 Mar. But what trade art thou? Answer me 
 
 directly. 2 
 Sec. Com. A trade, sir, that, I hope I may 
 use with a safe conscience; which is, indeed, 
 sir, a mender of bad soles. 3 
 Mar. What trade, thou knave? thou naughty* 
 
 knave, what trade? 
 Sec. Com. Nay, I beseech you, sir, be not out 5 20 
 with me: yet, if you be out 6 , sir, I can mend 
 you. 
 
 Mar. What meanest thou 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 
 the awl : I meddle with no trademan's matters, 
 nor women's matters, but with awl.f I am, 
 indeed, sir, a surgeon to old shoes; when they 30 
 are in great danger, I re-cover 1 them. As 
 proper* men as ever trod upon neat's-leather* 
 have gone upon my handiwork. 10 
 
 Flav. But wherefore art not in thy shop to- 
 day? 
 Why dost thou lead these men about the 
 streets? 
 
 'comparison 
 with 
 
 straightfor- 
 wardly 
 
 z a pun on 
 "souls" 
 ^worthless 
 
 5 do not quarrel 
 6 i. e. at heels. 
 a play on the 
 word "out." 
 
 7 a quibble =(1) 
 to cover again 
 and (2) to 
 bring back to 
 health 
 
 8 fine 
 
 *ox hide 
 
 l0 workmanship 
 
 * A cobbler ■■ 
 quibble. Cf. 
 
 a clumsy mender, a botcher. The word is here used with a 
 
 Cobbling extends a thousand ways, 
 Some cobble shoes, some cobble plays. 
 
 Lloyd's Cobbler of Tessington. 
 t Awl. A shoemaker's tool. For the play on the word with ' 'all," cf . 
 the ancient ballad, The Three Merry Cobblers: 
 
 We have ' ( awle" at our command, 
 And still we are on the mending hand. 
 
Scene I] 
 
 JULIUS CAESAR 
 
 75 
 
 Sec. Com. Truly, sir, to wear out their shoes, 
 to get myself into more work. But, indeed, 
 sir, we make holiday to see Csesar, and to re- 40 
 joice in his triumph. 
 
 Mar. Wherefore rejoice? What conquest 
 brings he home? 
 What tributaries follow him to Rome, 
 To grace in captive bonds his chariot-wheels? 
 You blocks, you stones, you worse than sense- 
 less things! 
 O you hard hearts, you cruel men of Rome, 
 Knew you not Pompey? Many a time and oft 
 Have you climbed up to walls and battlements, 
 To towers and windows, yea, to chimney-tops, 
 Your infants in your arms, and there have sat 50 
 The live-long day, with patient expectation, 
 To see great Pompey pass 1 the streets of Rome : 
 And when you saw his chariot but 2 appear, 
 Have you not made an universal shout, 
 That Tiber trembled underneath her banks, 
 To hear z the replication 4 of your sounds 
 Made in her concave 5 shores? 
 And do you now put on your best attire? 
 And do you now cull out a holiday?* 
 And do you now strew flowers in his way 60 
 
 That* comes in triumph over Pompey's blood? 
 Be gone! 
 
 Run to your houses, fall upon your knees, 
 Pray to the gods to intermit 7 the plague 
 That needs must light* on this ingratitude. 
 
 Flav. Go, go, good countrymen, and, for this fault, 
 Assemble all the poor men of your sort; 9 
 Draw them to Tiber 10 banks, and weep 11 your tears 
 Into the channel, till the lowest stream 
 Do kiss the most exalted shores of all.f 70 
 
 [Exeunt Commoners. 
 
 x pass through 
 2 but his chariot 
 
 3 at hearing 
 
 A echo 
 
 b hollow 
 
 6 who 
 
 Idelay 
 »fall 
 
 ^station or rank 
 10 an adjective 
 u shed 
 
 * Cull out a holiday; choose to-day for a holiday: French cueillir — to 
 pick or gather. 
 
 t Till your tears so fill the stream at its lowest that it reaches the top of 
 the banks. 
 
76 
 
 JULIUS CAESAR 
 
 [Act I 
 
 See, whether 1 their basest metal 2 be not moved; 
 They vanish tongue-tied in their guiltiness. 
 Go you down that way towards the Capitol; 
 This way will I : disrobe the images, 3 
 If you do find them deck'd with ceremonies.* 
 
 Mar. May we do so? 
 You know it is the feast of Lupercal. 5 
 
 Flav. It is no matter; let no images 
 Be hung with Caesar's trophies. 6 I'll about, 1 
 And drive away the vulgar* from the streets : 
 So do you too, where you perceive them thick. 
 These growing feathers pluck'd from Caesar's 
 
 wing 
 Will make him fly an ordinary pitch, 9 * 
 Who else 10 would soar above the view of men, 
 And keep us all in servile fearfulness. 11 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 Scene II. A Public Place. 
 
 Flourish. Enter Cesar; Antony, for the 
 course;^ Calpurnia, Portia, Dectus, 
 Cicero, Brutus, Cassius, and Casca; 
 a great crowd following, among them a 
 Soothsayer. 
 Cws. Calpurnia! 
 
 Casca. Peace, ho! Caesar speaks. 
 
 [Music ceases. 
 Cobs. Calpurnia! 
 
 Cal. Here, my lord. 
 
 Cobs. Stand you directly in Antonius , way, 
 When he doth run his course. f Antonius! 
 Ant. Caesar, my lord? 
 Cces. Forget not, in your speed, Antonius, 
 To touch Calpurnia; for our elders say, 
 
 80 
 
 l a monosyllable 
 Hemper 
 
 3 i. e. of Caesar 
 
 ^religious orna- 
 ments 
 
 5 a festivalin 
 honor of 
 Pan, cele- 
 brated Feb. 
 15th 
 
 6 with diadems 
 on their 
 heads as 
 tokens of 
 C cesar's 
 victories 
 
 7 go here and 
 there 
 
 Hhe common 
 people 
 
 ^flight 
 
 ^otherwise 
 
 n terror 
 
 
 * I. e. this check will bring him down to his proper level. 
 
 \ I.e. the course of the Luperci round the city wall. ' 'That day there are 
 divers noblemen's sons, young men (and some of them magistrates themselves, 
 that govern then), which run naked through the city, striking in sport them 
 they meet in their way with leather thongs" (made of the skins of goats which 
 had been sacrificed). — North's Plutarch, Skeat's Ed., p. 95. (See note, p. 164). 
 
Scene II] 
 
 JULIUS CiESAR 
 
 77 
 
 The barren, touched in this holy chase, 
 Shake off their sterile curse. 1 
 
 Ant. I shall remember: 
 
 When Caesar says, "Do this," it is perform'd. 10 
 Cces. Set on; 2 and leave no ceremony out. 
 
 [Music. 
 Sooth. Caesar! 
 Cces. Ha! Who calls? 
 
 Casca. Bid every noise be still : peace yet again ! 
 Cces. Who is it in the press 3 that calls on me? 
 I hear a tongue, shriller than all the music, 
 Cry "Caesar!" Speak; Caesar is turn , d i to hear. 
 Sooth. Beware the ides 5 of March. 
 Cces. What man is that? 
 
 Bru. A soothsayer bids you beware the ides 
 
 of March. 
 Cces. Set him before me; let me see his face. 20 
 Cas. Fellow, come from the throng; look 
 
 upon Caesar. 
 Cces. What say'st thou to me now? Speak 
 
 once again. 
 Sooth. Beware the ides of March. 
 Cces. He is a dreamer; let us leave him: pass. 
 
 [Sennet. 6 
 [Exeunt all but Brutus and Cassius. 
 Cas. Will you go see the order of the course? 
 Bru. Not I. 
 Cas. I pray you, do. 
 
 Bru. I am not gamesome: 7 I do lack some part 
 Of that quick spirit* that is in Antony. 
 Let me not hinder, Cassius, your desires; 30 
 
 I'll leave you. 
 
 Cas. Brutus, I do observe you now of late: 
 I have not from your eyes that gentleness 
 And show 9 of love, as 10 I was wont to have: 
 You bear too stubborn and too strange a hand 
 Over your friend that loves you.* 
 
 Hhe curse of 
 barrenness 
 
 proceed 
 
 Hhrong 
 
 Hums 
 Hhe 15 th 
 
 6 a sounding of 
 trumpets 
 
 ifond of sports 
 ^liveliness 
 
 8 demonstration 
 l0 which 
 
 * You treat your old friend too roughly, as though he were a mere stranger, 
 as a horseman curbs a strange horse. 
 
78 
 
 JULIUS C^SAR 
 
 [Act I 
 
 Bru. Cassius, 
 
 Be not deceiv'd: if I have veiFd my look 
 I turn the trouble of my countenance 
 Merely 1 upon myself.* Vexed 2 I am 
 Of late, with passions of some difference, 3 40 
 
 Conceptions* only proper to myself,* 
 Which give some soil, 6 perhaps, to 6 my be- 
 haviours; 1 
 But let not therefore my good friends be 
 
 grieved, — 
 Among which number, Cassius, be you one — 
 Nor construe any further my neglect, 
 Than that poor Brutus, with himself at war, 
 Forgets the shows of love to other men. 
 Cos. Then, Brutus, I have much mistook 
 
 your passion; 8 
 By means whereof, 9 this breast of mine hath 
 
 buried 
 Thoughts of great value, worthy cogitations.™ 50 
 Tell me, good Brutus, can you see your face? 
 Bru. No, Cassius; for the eye sees not itself, 
 But by reflection, by 11 some other things. 
 
 Cas. 'Tis just: 1 * 
 And it is very much lamented, 13 Brutus, 
 That you have no such mirrors as will turn 1 * 
 Your hidden worthiness into your eye, 
 That you might see your shadow. 15 I have 
 
 heard, 
 Where 16 many of the best 17 respect in Rome, — 
 Except immortal Caesar, — speaking of Brutus 60 
 And groaning underneath this age's yoke, 
 Have wish'd that noble Brutus had his eyes. 18 
 Bru. Into what dangers would you lead me, 
 
 Cassius, 
 That you would have me seek into myself 
 For that which is not in me? 
 Cas. Therefore, good Brutus, be prepared to 
 
 hear: 
 
 Entirely 
 
 2 a dissyllable 
 
 Conflicting 
 feelings 
 
 Hhoughts 
 
 Hhat concern 
 myself alone 
 
 6 mar somewhat 
 
 1 outward con- 
 duct 
 
 8 realfeelings 
 
 Q and on that 
 
 account 
 10 reflections 
 
 n by the aid of 
 12 that's so 
 l3 to be lamented 
 ^reflect 
 
 15 reflection 
 
 l6 how that 
 11 held in the 
 
 l8 could see him- 
 self aright 
 
 * If I have worn a clouded brow, my looks are but the index to my own 
 troubled heart. 
 
Scene II] 
 
 JULIUS C^SAR 
 
 79 
 
 And, since you know you cannot see yourself 
 
 So well as by reflection, I, your glass, 
 
 Will modestly discover to yourself 
 
 That of 1 yourself which you yet know not of 70 
 
 And be not jealous on 2 me, gentle Brutus: 
 
 Were I a common laugher, 8 or did use 4 ' 
 
 To stale 5 with ordinary oaths my love 
 
 To every new protester; 6 if you know 
 
 That I do fawn on men, and hug them hard, 
 
 And after scandal 1 them; or if you know 
 
 That I profess myself, 8 in banqueting, 
 
 To all the rout, 9 then hold 10 me dangerous. 
 
 [Flourish and shout. 
 
 Bru. What means this shouting? I do fear, 
 the people 
 Choose Caesar for their king. 
 
 Cas. Ay, do you fear it? 80 
 
 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, 11 
 Set honour in 12 one eye, and death i' the other, 
 And I will look on both indifferently; 13 
 For, let the gods so speed me, 14 as I love 
 The name of honour more than I fear death. 
 
 Cas. I know that virtue to be in you, Brutus, 90 
 As well as I do know your outward favour. 15 
 Well, honour is the subject of my story. 
 I cannot tell what you and other men 
 Think of this life; but for my single self, 
 I had as lief 16 not be, as live to be 
 In awe of such a thing as I myself. 
 I was born free as Caesar; 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, 100 
 
 The troubled Tiber chafing with her shores^ 1 
 Caesar said to me, "Darest thou, Cassius, now 
 
 ^bout 
 
 2 suspicious 
 about 
 
 3 jester 
 
 A were I wont 
 
 5 make cheap 
 
 6 new person 
 who protested 
 his love for 
 me 
 
 7 abuse 
 
 s make profes- 
 sions of af- 
 fection 
 
 Q noisy com- 
 pany, mob 
 
 l0 consider. Cf. 
 Latin teneo 
 and habeo 
 
 u that makes for 
 the common 
 welfare 
 
 12 full in the view 
 
 of 
 13 impartially 
 u so help me 
 
 heaven 
 15 appearance 
 
 n would as 
 willingly 
 {pronounced 
 "lieve" to 
 bring out the 
 play on 
 ''live") 
 
 ^angrily buffet- 
 ing her banks 
 
80 
 
 JULIUS CJESAR 
 
 [Act I 
 
 Leap in with me into this angry flood, 
 
 And swim to yonder point V Upon the word, 1 
 
 Accoutred 2 as I was, I plunged 3 in, 
 
 And bade him follow; so, indeed, he did. 
 
 The torrent roar'd; and we did buffet it 
 
 With lusty 4 sinews, throwing it aside, 
 
 And stemming it, with hearts of controversy: 5 
 
 But ere we could arrive 6 the point proposed, 110 
 
 Caesar cried, "Help me, Cassius, or I sink!" 
 
 I, as iEneas, our great ancestor, 
 
 Did from the flames of Troy upon his shoulder 
 
 The old Anchises bear, so from the waves of 
 
 Tiber 
 Did I the tired Caesar: and this man 
 Is now become a god; and Cassius is 
 A wretched creature, and must bend his body, 7 
 If Caesar carelessly but nod on him. 
 He had a fever when he was in Spain, 
 And, when the fit was on him, I did mark 120 
 How he did shake : 'tis true, this god did shake : 
 His coward lips did from their colour fly, 8 
 And, that same eye whose bend 9 doth awe the 
 
 world 
 Did lose his 10 lustre: I did hear him groan: 
 Ay, and that tongue of his, that bade the 
 
 Romans 
 Mark 11 him and write his speeches in their 
 
 books, 
 Alas, it cried, "Give me some drink, Titinius," 
 As a sick girl. Ye gods! it doth amaze me, 
 A man of such feeble a temper 12 should 
 So get the start of 13 the majestic world 130 
 
 And bear the palm 14 alone. 
 
 [Flourish and shout. 
 Bru. Another general shout! 
 I do believe that these applauses are 
 For some new honours that are heap'd on 
 
 Caesar. 
 Cas. Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow 
 
 world 
 
 ho, instantly 
 2 clad , 
 
 3 a dissyllable 
 
 A stout 
 
 ^courage eager 
 for the fray 
 6 sc. at 
 
 ''make a rever- 
 ence 
 
 8 went pale 
 Hook 
 
 l0 its 
 
 Hook up to, 
 observe 
 
 12 temperament 
 
 13 outpace 
 
 l4 prize 
 
Scene II] 
 
 JULIUS CJESAR 
 
 81 
 
 Like a Colossus; and we petty men 
 Walk under his huge legs, and peep about 
 To find ourselves dishonourable graves. 
 Men at some time are masters of their fates: 
 The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, 1 140 
 But in ourselves, that we are underlings, 2 
 Brutus, and Caesar: what should be z in that 
 
 "Caesar"? 
 Why should that name be sounded 4 ' more than 
 
 yours? 
 Write them together, yours is as fair a name; 
 Sound them, it doth become the mouth as well; 
 Weigh them, it is as heavy; conjure with 'em, s 
 Brutus will start a spirit as soon as Caesar. 
 Now, in the names of all the gods at once, 
 Upon what meat doth this our Caesar feed, 
 That he is grown so great? Age, 6 thou art 
 
 shamed! 150 
 
 Rome, thou hast lost the breed of noble bloods! 
 When went there by an age since the great 
 
 flood, 7 
 But it was famed 8 with more than with one 
 
 man? 
 When could they say, till now, that talk'd of 
 
 Rome, 
 That her wide walls encompass' d but one man? 
 Now is it Rome indeed, and room 9 enough, 
 When there is in it but one only man. 
 O, you and I have heard our fathers say, 
 There was a Brutus once that would have 
 
 brook'd 10 
 Th' eternal 11 devil to keep his state 12 in Rome 160 
 As easily as a king. 
 
 Bru. That you do love me, I am nothing 
 
 jealous; 14 
 What you would work me to, I have some aim: 15 
 How I have thought of this and of these times, 
 I shall recount hereafter; for this present 16 
 I would not, so 17 with love I might entreat you, 
 
 M — I. e. he would as soon have the devil for ruler as to ha.vea.Mng 
 
 Hhe stars under 
 which we 
 were born 
 
 2 serfs 
 
 z can there be 
 
 4 uttered 
 
 b use them for 
 invocations 
 
 "our genera- 
 tion 
 
 7 see page 165 
 B made famous 
 
 by 
 
 8 a play on the 
 word Rome 
 
 ^yielded to 
 
 n damned 
 
 12 maintain his 
 dignity 
 
 l4 I in no wise 
 doubt your 
 love for me 
 
 n idea 
 
 16 sc. time 
 l7 if 
 
82 
 
 JULIUS CJESAR 
 
 [Act I 
 
 Be any further moved. What you have said, 
 I will consider; what you have to say, 
 I will with patience hear, and find a time 
 Both meet to hear, and answer, such high 
 
 things. 170 
 
 Till then, my noble friend, chew 1 upon this: 
 Brutus had rather be a villager, 
 Than to repute 2 himself a son of Rome 
 Under these hard conditions as z this time 
 Is like to lay upon us. 
 
 Cas. I am glad that my weak words 
 Have struck but thus much show 4 of fire from 
 Brutus. 
 Bru. The games are done, and Caesar is re- 
 turning. 
 Cas. As they pass by, pluck Casca by the 
 sleeve; 
 And he will, after his sour fashion, tell you 180 
 What hath proceeded* worthy 6 note to-day. 
 
 Re-enter Cesar and his Train. 
 
 Bru. I will do so. — But, look you, Cassius, 
 The angry spot doth glow on Caesar's brow, 
 And all the rest look like a chidden train: 
 
 Calpurnia's cheek is pale; and Cicero 
 Looks with such ferret 7 and such fiery eyes 
 As we have seen him in the Capitol, 
 Being 9 cross'd in conference by some senators. 
 
 Cas. Casca will tell us what the matter is. 
 
 Cms. Antonius! 190 
 
 Ant. Caesar? 
 
 Cces. Let me have men about me that are 
 fat; 
 Sleek-headed men, and such as sleep o' nights. 9 
 Yond 10 Cassius has a lean and hungry look; 
 He thinks too much: such men are dangerous.* 
 
 l ponder 
 
 Hhan repute 
 3 which 
 
 ^demonstration 
 
 6 sc. of 
 
 7 the ferret's eyes 
 are red 
 
 s when 
 
 *at night 
 l0 that 
 
 *Cf. North's Plutarch, where Caesar says: — " 'As for those fat men and 
 smooth-combed heads, quoth he, I never reckon of them; but these pale- 
 visaged and carrion lean people, I fear them most;' meaning Brutus and 
 Cassius." P. 97. 
 
Scene II] 
 
 JULIUS CiESAR 
 
 83 
 
 Ant. Fear him not, Caesar, he's not dangerous : 
 He is a noble Roman and well given. 1 
 
 Cces. 'Would he were fatter ! — but I fear him not : 
 Yet if my name 2 were liable to fear, 
 I do not know the man I should avoid 200 
 
 So soon as that spare Cassius. He reads much; 
 He is a great observer and he looks 
 Quite 3 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, 5 
 As if he mocked himself, and scorned his spirit 
 That could be moved to smile at anything. 
 Such men as he be 6 never at heart's ease 7 
 Whiles* they behold a greater than themselves; 
 And therefore are they very dangerous. 210 
 
 I rather tell thee what is to be fear'd 
 Than what I fear; for always I am Caesar. 
 Come on my right hand, for this ear is deaf, 9 
 And tell me truly what thou think' st of him. 
 [Sennet Exeunt Caesar and all 
 his Train but Casca. 
 
 Casca. You pull'd me by the cloak; would 
 you speak with me? 
 
 Bru. Ay, Casca; tell us what hath chanced™ 
 to-day, 
 That Caesar looks so sad. 11 
 
 Casca. Why, you were with him, were you 
 not? 
 
 Bru. I should not then ask Casca what hath 
 chanced. 
 
 Casca. Why, there was a crown offered him; 220 
 and, being offered him, he put it by with the 
 back of his hand, thus: and then the people 
 fell a-shouting. 
 
 2 L CcBsar 
 
 hight 
 
 4 emphaticfrom 
 
 its position 
 5 way 
 6 are 
 
 ''ease of heart 
 ^whilst 
 
 Q CoBsaris 
 mortal after 
 all. This de- 
 tail is not 
 historical 
 
 l0 taken place 
 u serious 
 
 * Cf. Merchant of Venice, V. i. 83-5:— 
 
 The man that hath no music in himself, 
 
 Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds, 
 
 Is fit fcr treasons, stratagems, and spoils. 
 
 Shakespeare evidently thought such men dangerous. 
 
84 
 
 JULIUS CAESAR 
 
 [Act I 
 
 
 Bru. What was the second noise for? 
 
 Casca. Why, for that too. 
 
 Cas. They snouted thrice: what was the last 
 cry for? 
 
 Casca. Why, for that too. 
 
 Bru. Was the crown offered him thrice? 
 
 Casca. Ay, marry, 1 was't, and he put it by 
 thrice, every time gentler, 2 than other; 3 and 230 
 at every putting-by, mine honest* neighbours 
 shouted. 
 
 Cas. Who offered him the crown? 
 
 Casca. Why, Antony. 
 
 Bru. Tell us the manner of it, 5 gentle Casca. 
 
 Casca. I can as well be hanged as tell the 
 manner of it: it was mere foolery; I did not 
 mark it. I saw Mark Antony offer him a 
 crown; — yet 'twas not a crown neither, 6 'twas 
 one of these coronets; — and, as I told you, he 
 put it by once: but, for all that, to my think- 240 
 ing, he would fain 7 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 9 as he refused it, the rabblement 10 
 shouted, and clapped their chapped 11 hands, and 
 threw up their sweaty night-caps, and uttered 
 such a deal of foul breath, because Caesar re- 
 fused the crown, that it had almost choked 250 
 Caesar; for he swounded, 12 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 
 Caesar swound? 
 
 Casca. He fell down in the market-place, 13 
 and foamed at mouth, and was speechless. 
 Bru. 'Tis very like : he hath the falling-sick- 
 ness. 141 
 Cas. No, Caesar hath it not; but you, and I, 
 
 l by the Virgin 
 Mary 
 
 Hn a more 
 reluctant 
 manner 
 
 3 sc. the 
 
 ^worthy {con- 
 temptuous) 
 
 5 how it hap- 
 pened 
 
 1 either 
 
 ^willingly (also 
 used as an 
 adjective) 
 
 Hake 
 
 *ever 
 
 1( >rabble("m(mt" 
 is here a con- 
 temptuous 
 suffix) 
 
 n another read- 
 ing is chopt, 
 i. e., split 
 with work 
 
 12 another read- 
 ing is 
 "swooned" 
 
 l3 i. e. the Forum 
 u epilepsy 
 
Scene II] 
 
 JULIUS CvESAK 
 
 85 
 
 And honest Casca, we have the falling-sickness. 260 
 
 Casca. I know not what you mean by that; 
 but I am sure, Caesar fell down. If the tag-rag 
 people 1 did not clap him, and hiss him, accord- 
 ing as he pleased and displeased them, as they 
 use 2 to do the players in the theatre, I am no 
 true 3 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 5 his doublet, and 270 
 offered them his throat to cut. An 6 I had 
 been a man of any occupation, 7 if I would not 
 have taken him at a 8 word, 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 anything 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 heed to be taken 280 
 of them; if Caesar had stabbed their mothers, 
 they would have done no less. 
 
 Bru. And after that, he came, thus sad* 
 away? 
 
 Casca. Ay. 
 
 Cos. Did Cicero say anything? 
 
 Casca. Ay, he spoke Greek.* 
 
 Cas. To what effect? 
 
 Casca. Nay, an 6 I tell you that, I'll ne'er 
 look you i' the face again; but those that 
 understood him smiled at one another, and 290 
 shook their heads; but for mine own part, 
 it was Greek to rae. 10 t I could tell you more 
 
 babble. Cf. 
 1 'tag, rag, 
 and bobtail" 
 in the same 
 sense 
 
 2 are wont 
 
 Hruthful. Cf. 
 our expres- 
 sion l 'a good 
 man and 
 true" 
 
 4 Cf. I. ii. 229 
 
 H saw him 
 pluck open. 
 "Me" is an 
 instance of 
 the so-called 
 Ethic Dative 
 
 Hf 
 
 7 <z "workman" 
 — in the two- 
 fold meaning 
 of mechanic 
 and man of 
 action 
 
 10 it was gibberish 
 to me. I could 
 make neither 
 head nor tail 
 of it 
 
 * North's Plutarch, speaking of Cicero, says: 'They commonly called him 
 the Grecian and scholer, which are two words the artificers (and such base 
 mechanicall people at Rome) have ever ready at their tongue's end. " (Life of 
 Cicero, p. 861). 
 
 t But North's Plutarch (p. 119, Skeat's Ed.) says: c 'Casca on the other side 
 cried in Greek, and called his brother to help him.'' So Casca must be feigning 
 ignorance of Greek to emphasize the foolery. 
 
86 
 
 JULIUS CAESAR 
 
 [Act I 
 
 r 1 
 
 news too: Marullus and Flavius, for pulling 
 scarfs off Caesar'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. x 
 
 Cas. Will you dine with me to-morrow? 
 
 Casca. Ay, if I be alive, and your mind 300 
 hold, and your dinner 2 worth 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 2 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. 5 
 This rudeness is a sauce to his good wit, 
 Which gives men stomach 6 to digest his words 310 
 With better appetite. 
 
 Bru. And so it is. 1 For this time I will 
 leave you: 
 To-morrow, if you please to speak with me, 
 I will come home to you; or, if you will, 
 Come home to me, and I will wait for you. 
 
 Cas. I will do so: till then, think of the 
 world. 9 
 
 [Exit Brutus. 
 Well, Brutus, thou art noble; yet I see 
 Thy honourable metal 9 may be wrought 
 From that it is disposed: 10 therefore, it is meet 
 That noble minds keep ever with their likes; 320 
 For who so firm that cannot be seduced? 11 
 Caesar doth bear me hard; 12 but he loves 
 
 Brutus : 
 If I were Brutus now, and he 13 were Cassius, 
 He should not humour 14 me. I will this night, 
 
 Engaged out 
 2 sc. be 
 
 3 full of spirit 
 
 ^albeit 
 
 ^apparent slow- 
 ness 
 
 ^digestive power, 
 hence willing- 
 ness 
 
 7 just so 
 
 8 state of things 
 
 9 temperament 
 10 turnedfromit8 
 
 present 
 
 nature 
 n led astray 
 12 bear me ill will 
 
 Cf. II. i. 215 
 13 obviously 
 
 Brutus, 
 
 though some 
 
 take it for 
 
 C&sar 
 u wheedle 
 
 * Cf . North's Plutarch(p. 96, Skeat's Ed.) : ' 'Caesar was so offended withal, 
 that he deprived Marullus and Flavius of their tribuneships," 
 
Scene III] 
 
 JULIUS CJESAR 
 
 87 
 
 In several hands, 1 in at his 2 windows throw, 
 As if they came from several citizens, 
 Writings, all tending to the great opinion 
 That Rome holds of his name; wherein ob- 
 scurely 
 Caesar's ambition shall be glanced 3 at: 
 And after this, let Caesar seat him sure;* 330 
 
 For we will shake him, or worse days endure. 
 
 Exit. 
 
 Scene III. The same. A Street. 
 
 Thunder and lightning. Enter, from opposite sides 
 Casca, with his sword drawn, and Ciceko. 
 Cic. Good even, Casca: brought you 5 * Caesar 
 
 home? 
 Why are you breathless? and why stare you 
 
 so? 
 Casca. Are you not moved, when all the 
 
 sway of earth 6 
 Shakes like a thing unfirm? 7 Cicero! 
 I have seen tempests, when the scolding winds 
 Have rived 8 the knotty oaks, and I have seen 
 The ambitious ocean swell, and rage, and 
 
 foam, 
 To be exalted with 9 the threatening clouds: 
 But never till to-night, never till now, 
 Did I go through a tempest dropping fire. 10 
 Either there is a civil strife in heaven, 
 Or else the world, too saucy 10 with the gods, 
 Incenses them to send destruction. 
 Cic. Why, saw you anything more 11 wonder- 
 ful? 
 Casca. A common 12 slave — you know him 
 
 well by sight — 
 Held up his left hand, which did flame, and 
 
 burn 
 Like twenty torches join'd, and yet his hand, 
 
 handwritings 
 Cf. our "to 
 write a good 
 hand" 
 
 2 i. e. Brutus 1 
 
 z a dissyllable; 
 hinted at 
 
 4 himself firmly 
 
 *did you see (as 
 we say) 
 
 8 steady-moving 
 
 earth 
 ''unsteady 
 8 split 
 
 Hn its attempt 
 to tower up to 
 
 ^insolent 
 
 u i. e. even more 
 
 12 public 
 
 * The word ' 'bring" now implies conducting to the place where the speaker 
 is; but cf. Richard II., I. iv. 2: — 
 
 How far brought you high Hereford on his way? 
 
88 
 
 JULIUS CJESAK 
 
 [Act I 
 
 Not sensible of 1 fire, remain'd unscorch'd. 
 Besides, — I ha' not since put up my sword, — 
 Against the Capitol I met a lion, 20 
 
 Who glared 2 upon me, and went surly by, 
 Without annoying me: and there were drawn 3 
 Upon 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, 6 
 Hooting and shrieking. When these prodigies 
 Do so conjointly 7 meet, let not men say, 
 "These are their reasons , 8 — they are natural;" 30 
 For, I believe, they are portentous things 9 
 Unto the climate 10 that they point upon. 11 
 
 Cic. Indeed, it is a stranger-disposed 13 time: 
 But men may construe things after their fashion, 
 Clean 1 * from 1 * the purpose of the things themselves. 
 Comes Caesar to the Capitol to-morrow? 
 
 Casca. He doth; for he did bid Antonius 
 Send word to you, he would be there to-morrow. 
 
 Cic. Good night, then, Casca: this dis- 
 turbed 16 sky 
 Is not to 17 walk in. 
 
 Casca. Farewell, Cicero. [Exit Cicero. 40 
 Enter Cassius. 
 
 Cas. Who's there? 
 
 Casca. A Roman. 
 
 Cas. Casca, by your voice. 
 
 Casca. Your ear is good. Cassius, what 18 
 night is this! 
 
 Cas. A very pleasing night to honest men. 
 
 Casca. Who ever knew the heavens menace 19 
 so? 
 
 Sensitive to 
 
 Hhe lion is re~ 
 garded almost 
 as a man; 
 therefore 
 "who" is 
 used for 
 "which" 
 
 Assembled 
 
 4 all crowded to- 
 gether 
 
 Hrisyllable 
 
 Hhe Forum 
 
 ^together 
 
 Hheir reasons 
 are so and so 
 
 Hhings of evil 
 omen 
 
 10 district 
 
 u at 
 
 ^strangely 
 
 ^trisyllable 
 
 u quite, alto- 
 gether. Cf. 
 our colloquial 
 phrases, l 'It 
 clean escaped 
 my memory," 
 1 l I clean for- 
 got it" 
 
 15 contraryto;Cf. 
 I. ii. 319 
 
 ^trisyllable 
 
 11 'fit to 
 
 lS what a 
 
 10 threaten 
 
 • Owl — A. S. ule; Latin ululare, to "howl." Its cries were of evil omen 
 to the Romans. Cf . Sandys' translation of Ovid, Metam. Bk. X. : — ■ 
 The funerall owle thrice rent 
 The ayre with ominous shrieks : yet on she went. 
 Dryden also speaks of "thefun'ral owl." 
 
Scene III] 
 
 JULIUS C^ISAE 
 
 89 
 
 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, 1 Casca, as you see, 
 Have bared my bosom to the thunder-stone; 2 
 And, when the cross 3 blue lightning seem'd to 
 
 open 50 
 
 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 should be in a Roman, you do want 
 Or else you use not. You look pale, and gaze, 
 And put on 5 fear, and cast yourself in 6 wonder, 60 
 To see 7 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 5 quality 9 and 
 
 kind; 10 * 
 Why old men fool 11 and children calculate, 12 
 Why all these things change, from their ordi- 
 nance, 13 
 Their natures and preformed 14 faculties, 
 To monstrous quality, 15 why, you shall find 
 That heaven hath infused them with these 
 
 spirits, 
 To make them instruments of fear and warning 70 
 Unto 1 * some monstrous state. 17 
 Now could I, Casca, name to thee a man 
 Most like this dreadful night, 
 
 l a trisyllable: 
 unbuttoned; 
 another 
 anachron- 
 ism. Cf. I. 
 ii.270arccttl. 
 i. 262 
 
 Hhunderbolt 
 
 3 forked 
 
 ^course, 
 direction 
 
 in, i. e.,feel 
 Hhrow yourself 
 into a state of 
 7 at seeing 
 ^contrary to 
 ^nature 
 10 their species 
 n act like fools 
 12 prophesy 
 13 contrary 
 to their ordi- 
 nary state 
 u predestined 
 lh an unnatural 
 
 disposition 
 l6 of 
 
 17 unnatural 
 state of things 
 
 * There is an easily understood ellipse here which is made plain two lines 
 later. Supply after "kind" something like "present themselves to us." 
 
90 
 
 JULIUS CJESAR 
 
 [Act I 
 
 That thunders, lightens, opens graves, and 
 
 roars 
 As doth the lion in the Capitol, 
 A man no mightier than thyself, or me, 
 In personal action, yet prodigious 1 grown 
 And fearful, as these strange eruptions 2 are. 
 
 Casca. 'Tis Caesar that you mean; is it not, 
 Cassius? 
 
 Cas. Let it be who it is:* for Romans now 80 
 Have thews 4 and limbs like to their ancestors; 
 But, woe the while! 5 our fathers* minds are dead, 
 And we are govern'd with 6 our mothers' spirits; 
 Our yoke and sufferance 7 show us womanish. 
 
 Casca. Indeed, they say the senators to- 
 morrow 
 Mean to establish Caesar as a king: 
 And he shall 9 wear his crown by sea and land, 
 In every place, save here in Italy. 
 
 Cas. I know where I will wear this dagger 9 
 then; 
 Cassius from bondage will deliver Cassius: 90 
 Therein,™ ye gods, you make the weak most 
 
 strong; 
 Therein, ye gods, you tyrants do defeat: 
 Nor 11 stony tower, nor walls of beaten brass, 
 Nor airless dungeon, nor strong links of iron, 
 Can be retentive to 12 the strength of spirit; 
 But life, being 13 weary of these worldly bars, 
 Never lacks power to dismiss itself. 
 If I know this, know all the world 14 besides, 
 That 1 * part of tyranny that I do bear 
 I can shake off at pleasure. [Thunder still. 
 
 Casca. So can I: 100 
 
 So every bondman in his own hand bears 
 The power to cancel 16 his captivity. 
 
 Cas. And why should Caesar 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 17 no lion, were not Romans hinds. 19 
 
 portentous 
 disturbances 
 of nature 
 
 z no need to say 
 who; I won't 
 say who 
 
 ^muscles 
 
 6 alas for the 
 present age! 
 
 *by 
 
 7 patience 
 
 Hs to 
 
 *he means he 
 will bury itin 
 his own body; 
 a play on the 
 word "wear" 
 
 10 by giving men 
 the power to 
 end their own 
 lives 
 
 lh neither 
 
 ^restrain 
 
 13 when 
 
 Het all the 
 world know 
 
 15 sc. that, 
 omitted for 
 euphony's 
 sake 
 
 l6 free himself 
 from (as a 
 bondsman 
 frees himself 
 by cancelling 
 his bonds) 
 l7 would be 
 ^female deer 
 
Scene III] 
 
 JULIUS C^SAR 
 
 91 
 
 Those that with haste will make a mighty fire, 
 Begin it with weak straws: what trash 1 is 
 
 Rome, 
 What rubbish, and what offal, 2 when it serves 
 For the base matter 3 to illuminate 110 
 
 So vile a thing as Caesar! 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 5 is no fleering 6 tell-tale. Hold, my hand: 7 
 Be factious 8 for redress of all these griefs, 9 
 And I will set this foot of mine as far 
 As who 10 goes farthest. 
 
 Cas. There's a bargain made. 120 
 
 Now know you, Casca, I have moved already 
 Some certain of the noblest-minded Romans 
 To undergo 11 with me an enterprise 
 Of honourable-dangerous 12 consequence; 
 And I do know, by this 13 they stay for me 
 In Pompey's porch : for now, this fearful night, 
 There is no stir 1 * or walking in the streets; 
 And the complexion of the element 15 
 In favour V 6 like the work we have in hand, 
 Most bloody, fiery, and most terrible. 130 
 
 Casca. Stand close 17 awhile, for here comes 
 
 one in haste. 
 Cas. 'Tis Cinna; I do know him by his 
 gait: 18 
 He is a friend. 
 
 Enter Cinna. 
 Cinna, where haste you so? 
 Cin. To find out you 19 Who's that? Metellus 
 
 Cimber? 
 Cas. No, it is Casca; one incorporate 
 To™ our attempts. Am I not stay'd 21 for, 
 Cinna? 
 
 Worthless stuff 
 
 2 refuse 
 
 3 material 
 
 4 J shall be held 
 answerable, 
 i. e. respon- 
 sible for my 
 words 
 
 5 who (or as) 
 
 °mocking 
 
 7 come; here's 
 my hand up- 
 on it 
 
 s work actively 
 
 ^grievances. 
 
 10 the man who 
 
 n undertake 
 
 12 honorably 
 
 dangerous 
 13 this time 
 u either a verb, 
 
 1 'stirring" 
 
 or a noun, 
 
 "bustle" 
 15 aspect of the 
 
 sky 
 ^appearance. 
 
 Cf. I. ii. 91 
 17 either 
 
 "hidden" or 
 
 "quiet" 
 l9 walk 
 
 ™you out 
 
 ^associated 
 
 with 
 21 waited 
 
92 
 
 JULIUS CvESAK 
 
 [Act I 
 
 Cin. I am glad on 1 't. What a fearful night 
 is this! 
 There 's 2 two or three of us have seen strange 
 sights. 
 Cas. Am I not stay'd 3 for? Tell me. 
 Cin. Yes, you are. 
 
 O Cassius, if you could 140 
 
 But win the noble Brutus to our party — 
 Cas. Be you content: 41 Good Cinna, take this 
 paper, 
 And look you lay it in the praetor's chair,* 
 Where Brutus may but 5 find it; and throw this 
 In at his window; set this up with wax 
 Upon old Brutus' 6 f statue: all this done, 
 Repair to Pompey's porch, where you shall 
 
 find us. 
 7s 7 Decius* Brutus and Trebonius there? 
 
 Cin. All but Metellus Cimber ; and he's gone 
 To seek you at your house. Well, I will hie, 9 150 
 And so bestow these papers as you bade 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 10 of him 
 Is 10 ours already; and the man entire 
 Upon the next encounter yields him 11 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, 12 
 Will change to virtue and to worthiness. 160 
 
 Cas. Him, and his worth, and our great need 
 of him, 
 You have right well conceited. 13 Let us go, 
 For it is after midnight; and, ere day, 
 We will awake him, and be sure of him. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 'of 
 
 2 are 
 
 hoaited 
 
 b only Brutus 
 may 
 
 6 i. e. his an- 
 cestor, Junius 
 
 7 are 
 
 s should be 
 "Decimus." 
 In the second 
 edition(1565) 
 of AmyoVs 
 translation of 
 Plutarch this 
 correction is 
 made 
 
 ^hasten 
 
 10 a three-fourth 
 part. The 
 idea is really 
 singular, and 
 therefore we 
 have "is" 
 
 n will yield him- 
 self 
 
 12 the science of 
 the alchemist, 
 who could 
 transmute 
 base metals 
 into gold 
 
 13 judged. Cf. 
 III. i. 192 
 
 * The sella curulis, or chair of state, in which the praetor sat when he ad- 
 ministered justice. 
 t See Notes, p. 167. 
 
Scene I] 
 
 JULIUS CiESAB 
 
 93 
 
 ACT II. 
 
 Scene I. Rome. Brutus' Orchard. 
 
 Enter Brutus. 
 
 Bru. What, 1 Lucius, ho! 
 I cannot, by the progress 2 of the stars, 
 Give guess 3 how near to day. Lucius, I say] 
 I would it were my fault to sleep so soundly. 
 
 When, Lucius, when?* 
 Lucius! 
 
 awake, I say! What, 
 
 10 
 
 Enter Lucius. 
 Luc. Caird you, my lord? 
 Bru. Get me a taper in my study, Lucius: 
 When it is lighted, come and call me here. 6 
 Luc. I will, my lord. [Exit Lucius. 
 
 Bru. It must be by his death: and, for my 
 part, 
 I know no personal cause to spurn at him, 6 * 
 But for the general, f He would be crowned: 
 How that might change his nature, there's the 
 
 question: 
 It is the bright day that brings 7 forth the adder, 
 And that craves wary walking. 8 Crown him? — 
 
 that," 9 
 And then, I grant, we put a sting in him, 
 That at his will he may do danger 10 with. 
 The abuse of greatness is, when it disjoins 
 Remorse 11 from power: and, 12 to speak truth of 
 Caesar, 
 
 % an exclamation 
 of impatience 
 
 ^course 
 
 3 a guess 
 
 4 he is more im- 
 patient still 
 
 5 come here and 
 call me 
 
 6 cast him off 
 scornfully 
 
 7 entices 
 
 8 and then one 
 must walk 
 cautiously 
 
 9 ay! or (( do 
 that" 
 
 ^mischief 
 
 n pity 
 
 12 still 
 
 * Spurn; intransitive. Cf. Drayton's Barons 1 Wars, Bk. III. : 
 But all in vain against her will they spurn; 
 Persuasion, threat, nor curse with her prevails. 
 The verb now is always transitive. 
 
 f General, for the general cause, i. e., the public cause, the sake of the com- 
 munity. Others take ' 'general" here to be a noun meaning "the public/! 
 as in Hamlet, II. ii. 457 : — 
 
 For the play, I remember, pleased not the million; 
 'Twas caviare to the general — ■ 
 though even here the word might be an adjective qualifying "populace" 
 understood, the idea being contained in the preceding 'million. ' 
 
94 
 
 JULIUS CAESAR 
 
 [Act II 
 
 I have not known when his affections sway'd 20 
 More than his reason. But 'tis a common 
 
 proof, 1 
 That lowliness is young ambition's ladder, 
 Whereto the climber-upward turns his face; 
 /But when he once attains the upmost round,* 
 He then unto the ladder turns his back, 
 Looks in the clouds, scorning the base degrees 3 
 By which he did ascend. So Csesar may: 
 Then, lest he may, prevent.* And, since the 
 
 quarrel 
 Will bear no colour for the thing he is, 
 Fashion it thus; 5 that what he is augmented, 30 
 Would run to these and these 6 extremities: 
 And therefore think him as a serpent's egg, 
 Which, hatch'd, would, as his kind, 7 grow mis- 
 chievous; 
 And kill him in the shell. 
 
 Re-enter Lucius. 
 Luc. The taper burneth in your closet, sir. 
 Searching the window for a flint, I found 
 
 [Giving him a letter. 
 This paper, thus seaPd up; and, I am sure 
 It did not lie there when I went to bed. 
 
 Bru. Get you to bed again; it is not day. 
 Is not to-morrow, boy, the ides of March?* 40 
 Luc. I know not, sir. 
 Bru. Look in the calendar, and bring me 
 
 word. 
 Luc. I will, sir. [Exit Lucius. 
 
 ^experience (for 
 experience is 
 the ultimate 
 proof of all 
 things) 
 
 2 step (the steps 
 of an ordi- 
 nary ladder 
 are "round") 
 
 Hower steps 
 
 Anticipate him. 
 See "Glos- 
 sary" 
 
 B i. e. since, if 
 Caesar re- 
 mains what 
 he is at pres- 
 ent, we have 
 no plausible 
 ground of 
 complaint 
 against him, 
 look at it in 
 this way 
 
 *such and such 
 Cf. I. iii. 30 
 
 ''after the man- 
 ner of his 
 species; or it 
 might mean 
 ' 'according 
 to his 
 
 nature" as 
 in I. iii. 64 
 
 * The folios read ' 'the 1st of March." This is Theobald's emendation. In 
 Plutarch's Life of Brutus, (Skeat's Ed. 113), we have: ' 'Cassius asked him if 
 he were determined to be in the senate-house on the first day of the month of 
 March." If Shakespeare wrote "the 1st of March," he perhaps had this in 
 mind, though it is most probably a transcriber's error, as the word "ides" 
 would not be so familiar to him as "1st," and might easily be mistaken in 
 copying. Mr. Wright, (in the Clarendon Press edition of Julius Ccesar), feels 
 sure that Shakespeare wrote "the first of March." Quoting the above pas- 
 sage from Plutarch, he adds: ' 'It is quite possible that from this passage, 'the 
 first of March' fixed itself in Shakespeare's mind, although Brutus was think- 
 ing of the ides which he had heard the soothsayer warn Caesar against." 
 
Scene I] 
 
 JULIUS C^SAE 
 
 95 
 
 Bru. The exhalations 1 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, etc. — Speak, strike, redress! 
 Brutus, thou sleep'st: awake!" — 
 Such instigations have been often dropp'd 
 Where I have took 2 them up. 50 
 
 " Shall Rome, etc." Thus must I piece it out: 3 
 Shall Rome stand under one man's awe?* 
 
 What, Rome? 
 My ancestors 5 did from the streets of Rome 
 The Tarquin drive, when he was call'daking. 
 "Speak, strike, redress!" — Am I entreated 
 To speak, and strike? O Rome, I make thee 
 
 promise, 
 If the redress will follow, thou receiv'st 
 Thy full petition at the hand of Brutus! 6 
 Re-enter Lucius. 
 Luc. Sir, March is wasted fourteen days. 
 
 [Knocking within. 
 Bru. 'Tisgood. Go to the gate; somebody 
 knocks. 60 
 
 [Exit Lucius. 
 Since Cassius first did whet me against Caesar, 
 I have not slept. 
 
 Between the acting of a dreadful thing 
 And the first motion, 1 all the interim is 
 Like a phantasma, 8 or a hideous dream: 
 The genius 9 and the mortal instruments 19 
 Are then in council; and the state of man, 
 Like to a little kingdom, suffers then 
 The nature of an 11 insurrection. 
 
 Re-enter Lucius. 
 Luc. Sir, 'tis your brother* Cassius at the 
 door, 70 
 
 Who doth desire to see you. 
 
 Bru. Is he alone? 
 
 imeteors (sup- 
 posed to be 
 caused by the 
 ignition of a 
 dry exhala- 
 tion from the 
 earth, an ex- 
 halation be- 
 ing some' 
 thing 
 breathed 
 out,avapor) 
 
 Haken 
 
 3 fill in the gaps 
 
 *be awed by one 
 man, or as we 
 say, lt stand 
 in awe of one 
 man" 
 
 s esp. L. Junius 
 Brutus 
 
 e. / will do 
 all that thou 
 askest 
 
 Hmpulse 
 e vision, night- 
 mare 
 ^rational spirit 
 10 bodily faculties 
 ll a sort of 
 
 * Cassius was Brutus' brother-in-law, not brother; he had married Brutus' 
 sister, Junia. 
 
96 
 
 JULIUS C^SAE 
 
 [Act II 
 
 Luc. No, sir, there are moe 1 with him. 
 
 Bru. Do you know them? 
 
 Luc. No, sir; their hats are pluck' d 2 * about 
 their ears, 
 And half their faces buried in their cloaks, 
 That 3 by no means I may discover them* 
 By any mark of favour. 5 
 
 Bru. Let 'em enter. [Exit Lucius. 
 
 They are the faction* O conspiracy, 
 Sham 'st thou 1 ] to show thy dangerous brow by 
 
 night, 
 When evils 9 are most free? O, then, by day, 
 Where wilt thou find a cavern dark enough 80 
 To mask thy monstrous visage? Seek none, 
 
 conspiracy; 
 Hide it in smiles and affability: 
 For if thou path, 9 thy native semblance on, 10 
 Not Erebus 11 itself were dim enough 
 To hide thee from prevention. 12 
 
 Enter Cassius, Casca, Decius, Cinna, Metellus 
 Cimber, and Trebonius. 
 Cas. I think we are too bold upon 13 your rest: 
 Good morrow, 14 Brutus; do we trouble you? 
 Bru. I have been up this hour; awake all 
 night. 
 Know I these men that come along with you? 
 Cas. Yes, every man of them; and no 15 man 
 here 90 
 
 But honours you; and every one doth wish 
 You had but that opinion of yourself 
 
 1 others read 
 "more." See 
 ''Glossary" 
 
 ^pulled down 
 
 ho that 
 
 4 make them out 
 
 feature. Cf.l. 
 ii. 91 
 
 Conspirators 
 
 7 art thou 
 ashamed 
 {monosyl- 
 lable) 
 
 8 evil things 
 
 9 walk abroad 
 
 ^wearing thy 
 natural look 
 
 n the Lower 
 World 
 
 ^detection. 
 Others have 
 taken the line 
 to mean "to 
 protect thee 
 from hin- 
 drance," but 
 this seems an 
 unnaturally 
 forced mean- 
 ing here 
 
 13 i. e. in break- 
 ing in upon. 
 Cf. the phrase 
 1 'Out upon 
 you," i. e., 
 against you 
 
 u morning 
 
 K and there is no 
 
 * Cf. The Winter's Tale, IV. iv. 665, for the meaning of "pluck":— 
 Take your sweetheart's hat 
 And pluck it o'er your brows. 
 This is another anachronism, as the Roman hat (pileus) was made to fit close 
 and shaped like the half of an egg. 
 
 f'To shame" was formerly intransitive = to be ashamed. Cf. Wiclif's 
 translation of the Bible — Luke xviii.: "And seide ( = said) there was a juge 
 (= judge) in a citee: that dredde ( = feared) not God, neither schamede of 
 (i. e. before) men." 
 
Scene II 
 
 JULIUS CJESAR 
 
 97 
 
 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; and this, 
 Metellus Cimber. 
 
 Bru. They are all welcome. 
 What watchful cares do interpose themselves 
 Betwixt your eyes and night? 1 
 
 Cas. Shall I entreat a word? 2 100 
 
 [Brutus and Cassius whisper apart. 
 
 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 3 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 5 on the south, 
 Weighing the youthful season of the year. 6 ^ 
 Some two months hence, up higher toward 
 
 the north 
 He first presents his fire: 7 and the high east 110 
 Stands, as the Capitol, directly here. 
 
 Bru. Give me your hands all over, 9 one by 
 
 one, _ 
 
 Cas. And let us swear our resolution. 9 
 Bru . No , not an oath : if not the face of men, 
 The sufferance of our souls, the time's abuse, — t 
 
 H. e. what anx- 
 ieties keep 
 you from 
 your beds7 
 
 2 may I beg a 
 word in 
 private? 
 
 Hnterlace. Cf. 
 the word 
 "fretwork" 
 
 4 where 
 ^encroaching 
 
 ^seeing that the 
 year is still 
 young 
 
 7 i. e. rises 
 Hhe whole of 
 
 you 
 hesolve (as in 
 our phrase 
 *Ho moved, 
 resolution") 
 
 * Trebonius, according to Plutarch, was the only one of the conspirators 
 who did not wish to make Antonius privy to their plot, but he persuaded the 
 others to his view. 
 
 t In winter the sun rises to the south of the east, and in summer to the 
 north of it. It was now, of course, March 15th, and the winter had not been 
 very long over. 
 
 \I. e. if the trouble reflected in the faces of our fellow countrymen and 
 our own inward suffering, and the abuses which prevail around us, are not 
 sufficient to rouse us. The omitted predicate is easily supplied from the 
 words that follow, ' 'if these be motives weak." 
 
98 
 
 JULIUS OESAR 
 
 [Act II 
 
 If these be motives weak, break off betimes, 
 And every man hence to his idle bed; 1 
 So let high-sighted 2 tyranny range on, 3 
 Till each man drop by lottery 4 But if these,* 
 As I am sure they do, bear fire enough 120 
 
 To kindle cowards, and to steel with valour 
 The melting spirits of women, then, country- 
 men, 
 What 6 need we any spur but our own cause 
 To prod us to redress? what other bond 
 Than 7 secret 9 Romans, that have spoke the 
 
 word, 
 And will not palter? 9 * and what other oath 
 Than honesty to honesty engaged, 
 That this shall be, or we will fall for it? 
 Swear 10 priests and cowards and men 
 
 cautelous, 11 
 Old feeble carrions, 12 and such suffering souls 130 
 That 13 welcome wrongs; unto bad causes swear . 
 Such creatures as men doubt : but do not stain 
 The even 14 virtue of our enterprise, 
 Nor the insuppressive 16 mettle of our spirits, 
 To think 16 that or 17 our cause or our perform- 
 ance 18 
 Did need an oath; when every drop of blood 
 That every Roman bears, and nobly bears, 
 7s guilty of a several baseness 19 
 If he do break the smallest particle 
 Of any promise that hath passed from him. 26 140 
 Cas. But what of Cicero? Shall we sound 
 him? 
 
 18 due carrying out of it l9 is guilty of a separate act 
 of baseness 20 we say "passed his lips" 
 
 x bed of idleness 
 
 2 aspiring 
 
 ^continue to rove 
 in search of 
 prey 
 
 4 as chance de- 
 crees 
 
 6 i. e. these mo- 
 tives (sup- 
 plied from I. 
 116) 
 
 6 why 
 
 7 i. e. than the 
 fact that we 
 are 
 
 8 i. e., who can 
 keep a secret 
 
 ^equivocate, 
 shuffle 
 
 10 administer 
 oaths to 
 (trans, or it 
 might be in- 
 trans., and 
 1 l let priests, 
 etc. ) take 
 oaths" 
 
 n crafty. See 
 "Glossary" 
 
 12 worthless 
 creatures 
 (originally 
 carcasses: 
 Latin caro 
 -flesh) 
 
 l3 as 
 
 l4 unsullied 
 nsu 
 ble 
 
 16 by thinking 
 
 l7 either 
 
 * Palter, of same root as ' 'paltry," has a curious derivation. It is probably 
 from pollice truncus, i. e., maimed in the thumb. People so maimed themselves 
 to escape military service, and hence ' 'poltron" or ' 'poltroon" became a name 
 for a coward. The verb naturally came to mean the use of false pretences; to 
 equivocate. Others say that the word is akin to the Swedish pallor — rags. 
 See "Glossary." 
 
Scene I] 
 
 JULIUS CJESAK 
 
 99 
 
 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, 1 
 And buy men's voices to commend our deeds : 
 It shall be said, his judgment ruled our hands; 
 Our youths 2 and wildness shall no whit 3 appear, 
 But all be buried in his gravity. 4 
 
 Bru. O, name him not; let us not break with 5 
 him, 150 
 
 For he will never follow anything 
 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 
 Caesar? 
 
 Cas. Decius, well urged. — I think it is not 
 meet, 
 Mark Antony, so well beloved of Caesar, 
 Should outlive Caesar: we shall find of 6 him 
 A shrewd contriver ; 7 and, you know, his means, 
 If he improve them, 8 may well stretch so far 
 As to annoy 9 us all: which to prevent 160 
 
 Let Antony and Caesar 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, 10 and envy 11 afterwards; 
 For Antony is but a limb of Caesar: 
 Let us be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius. 
 We all stand up against the spirit 12 of Caesar; 
 And in the spirit 12 of men there is no blood: 
 0, that we then could come by 1 * Caesar's spirit, 12 
 And not dismember Caesar! But, alas, 170 
 
 Caesar must bleed for it. And, gentle 14 friends, 
 Let's kill him boldly, but not wrathfully; 
 Let's carve him as a dish fit for the gods, 
 Not hew him as a carcass fit for hounds : 
 And let our hearts, as subtle 15 masters do, 
 
 deputation 
 ^youthful acta 
 3 not at all 
 ^seriousness 
 ^disclose the 
 
 matter to 
 
 Cf.our phrase 
 
 1 'to break the 
 
 news" 
 
 Hn 
 
 ''mischievous 
 plotter 
 
 8 his power, if 
 he makes the 
 most of it 
 
 Hnjure 
 
 10 i. e. in kill- 
 ing him 
 
 n malice 
 
 12 a monosyllable 
 
 lz get possession 
 of. We still 
 say "How 
 did you come 
 by that?" 
 
 14 noble, as in 
 our 
 
 man 
 
 * 'gentle- 
 it 
 
 1& artful 
 
100 
 
 JULIUS CAESAR 
 
 [Act II 
 
 Stir up their servants 1 to an act of rage, 
 And after 2 seem to chide 'em. This shall make 
 Our purpose necessary, 3 but not envious;* 
 Which so appearing to the common eyes, 
 We shall be called purgers,* not murderers. 
 And for Mark Antony, think not of him; 
 For he can do no more than Caesar's arm 
 When Caesar's head is off. 
 
 Cas. Yet I fear him: 
 
 For in the ingrafted love he bears to Caesar — 
 
 Bru. Alas, good Cassius, do not think of 
 him. 
 If he love Caesar, all that he can do 
 Is to himself, — take thought* and die for Caesar: 
 And that were much he should; 1 for he is given 
 To sports, to wildness, and much company. 
 
 Treb. There is no fear* in him; let him not 
 die; 
 For he will live, and laugh at this hereafter. 
 
 [Clock strikes. 
 
 Bru. Peace! count the clock. 9 
 
 Cas. The clock hath stricken 10 three. 
 
 Treb. 'Tis time to part. 
 
 Cas. But it is doubtful yet, 
 
 Whether 11 Caesar will come forth to-day, or no; 
 For he is superstitious grown of late, 
 Quite from 12 the main 13 opinion he held once 
 Of fantasy, of dreams, and ceremonies: 14 ' 
 It may be, these apparent 15 prodigies, 
 The unaccustomed terror of this night, 
 And the persuasion of his augurers,* 
 May hold 16 him from the Capitol to-day. 
 
 Dec. Never fear that: if he be so resolved, 
 
 180 
 
 190 
 
 200 
 
 H. e. hands 
 (which obey 
 the heart's 
 commands) 
 
 2 afterwards 
 
 3 a dissyllable, 
 "ness'ry" 
 
 hnalicious. Cf. 
 I. 164 above 
 
 5 cleansers. (As 
 a purgative 
 cleanses the 
 body of tm- 
 purities, so 
 we shall 
 cleanse the 
 land of 
 tyranny) 
 
 ^grieve 
 
 ''would be a 
 great deal for 
 a man like 
 him to do 
 
 8 cause of fear 
 
 *an anachron- 
 ism. The 
 Romans had 
 no striking 
 clocks 
 
 10 8 . nek 
 
 n a monosyllable 
 
 ^different from 
 
 lz firm 
 
 u omens 
 
 ^manifest 
 
 l6 keep 
 
 * Augurers, generally called ' 'augurs." They were professional interpreters 
 of omens; soothsayers. The Latin word augurium (augury) is derived from 
 avis (a bird), and gerere (sc. se), to carry oneself, as the augur's art originally 
 consisted in interpreting the ominous meaning, for good or ill, of the way in 
 which birds flew. It was afterwards applied to all sorts of divination of the 
 future. Augurer is formed by adding the agent suffix "er" to the verb 
 4 'augur." 
 
Scene I] 
 
 JULIUS OESAR 
 
 101 
 
 I can o'ersway him; for he loves to hear 
 That unicorns may be betray' d with trees,* 
 And bears with glasses, 1 elephants with 
 
 holes, 2 
 Lions with toils, 3 and men with flatterers: 
 But when I tell him he hates flatterers, 
 He says he does, being then most flattered. 
 Let me work; 4 
 
 For I can give his humour 5 the true bent, 9 
 And I will bring him to the Capitol. 
 
 Cas. Nay, we will all of us be there 7 to fetch 
 
 him. 
 Bru. By the eighth hour: is that the utter- 
 most?* 
 Cin. Be that the uttermost, and fail not 
 
 then. 
 Met. Caius Ligarius doth bear Caesar hard, 9 
 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: 10 
 He loves me well, and I have given him 
 
 reasons; 
 Send him but hither, and I'll fashion him 11 
 Cas. The morning comes upon 's: we'll 
 leave you, Brutus: — 
 And, friends, disperse yourselves; but all re- 
 member 
 What you have said, and show yourselves 
 true Romans. 
 Bru. Good gentlemen, look fresh and 
 merrily; 12 
 
 210 
 
 220 
 
 Mirrors 
 
 2 pitfalls 
 
 Hnares or nets 
 
 *Steevens says 
 this »" Let 
 me to work," 
 i. e., go to 
 work, but 
 surely it is 
 simpler to re- 
 gard "me" 
 as emphatic, 
 1 'Let me 
 manage this" 
 The "I" in 
 the two fol- 
 lowing lines 
 lends strength 
 to this view 
 
 6 fancy 
 
 ^inclination, 
 turn 
 
 7 on the spot 
 
 Hatest 
 
 9 bear Coesar a 
 grudge 
 
 10 near him (i.e., 
 by his house) 
 C/.III.i.l62: 
 1 'here by 
 Casar" 
 
 11 mould him to 
 our purpose 
 
 12 we should 
 rather say 
 1 'merry," 
 though the 
 adj. would be 
 used adverb- 
 ially 
 
 V 
 
 * Unicorns were said to have been caught by lions (and men) dodging 
 behind trees: the unicorn made a charge and its horn stuck into the tree. 
 Bears were surprised by gazing into mirrors placed ready for them by the 
 hunters, who were thus enabled to take aim at close quarters without being 
 noticed. For elephants, pits were dug and covered lightly over with turf on 
 hurdles, and a bait to attract them. When one elephant was thus entrapped, 
 others came up to help it, and fell into the same trap. Lions were caught 
 with snares. Decius says Caesar liked so much to hear of others being de- 
 ceived that he could not see when he was being deceived himself. 
 
102 
 
 JULIUS OffiSAR 
 
 [Act II 
 
 Let not our looks put on 1 our purposes, 
 But bear it as our Roman actors do,* 
 With untired spirits and formal constancy: 2 
 And so, good morrow to you every one. 
 
 [Exeunt all but Brutus. 
 Boy! Lucius! fast asleep! It is no matter; 
 Enjoy the heavy honey-dew 3 of slumber: 
 Thou hast no figures* nor no fantasies, 6 
 Which busy care draws in the brains of men; 
 Therefore thou sleep'st so sound. 
 Enter Portia. 
 
 Por. Brutus, my lord! 
 
 Bru. Portia, what mean you? Wherefore 
 rise you now? 
 It is not for 6 your health thus to commit 
 Your weak condition 7 to the raw cold morn- 
 
 neither? You've un- 
 
 mg. 
 Por. Nor for yours 
 
 gently, 9 Brutus, 
 Stole 10 from my bed: and yesternight, at supper, 
 You suddenly arose, and walk'd about, 
 Musing and sighing, with your arms across, 11 
 And when I ask'd you what the matter was, 
 You stared upon me with ungentle looks; 
 I urged you further; then you scratcb'd your 
 
 head, 
 And too impatiently stamp'd with your foot ; 
 Yet 12 1 insisted, yet 12 you answer'd not, 
 But, with an angry wafture 13 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 1 * hath his 16 hour with every 
 
 man. 
 It will not let you eat, nor talk, nor sleep, 
 And could it work so much upon your shape 19 
 As it hath much prevaiFd on your condition 11 
 
 230 
 
 240 
 
 250 
 
 1 assume, in the 
 sense of re- 
 veal or show 
 
 2 well-regulated 
 composure or 
 firmness 
 
 ^others read 
 honey- 
 heavy dew, 
 i. e. , the 
 dew heavy 
 with honey. 
 If we read 
 honey-dew, 
 it means 
 honeyed dew 
 
 4 imaginings 
 
 ^flights of 
 fancy 
 
 6 good for 
 
 ''constitution 
 
 8 double negative 
 
 ^unkindly, or 
 perhaps 
 rudely 
 
 10 stolen 
 
 "folded 
 
 12 still. Cf. the 
 French en- 
 core, which 
 means ' 'yet,' 
 "still," 
 "again" 
 
 iz waving 
 
 l4 at times 
 16 its 
 
 ^appearance, 
 
 looks 
 17 disposition 
 
 * Bear it, i. e. let your bearing be like that of our Roman actors. 
 
Scene I] 
 
 JULIUS CJESAR 
 
 103 
 
 I should not know you, Brutus. Dear my lord, 1 
 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. 260 
 
 Por. Is Brutus sick, and is it physical 2 
 To walk unbraced, 3 and suck up the humours* 
 Of the dank 5 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 6 and unpurged 7 air 
 To add unto his sickness? No, my Brutus; 
 You have some sick offence 9 within your mind, 
 Which, by the right and virtue of my place, 
 I ought to know of: and upon my knees, 270 
 I charm you, 9 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, 10 and what men to-night 
 Have had resort to you; for here have been 
 Some six or seven, who did hide their faces 
 Even from darkness. 
 
 Bru. Kneel not, gentle Portia. 
 
 Por. I should not need, if you were gentle, 
 Brutus. 
 Within 11 the bond of marriage, tell me, Brutus, 280 
 Is it excepted 12 1 should know no secrets 
 That appertain to you? Am I yourself 
 But, as it were, in sort or limitation; 13 
 To keep 14 with you at meals, comfort your bed, 
 And talk to you sometimes? Dwell I but 
 
 in the suburbs 15 
 Of your good pleasure? If it be no more, 
 Portia is Brutus' mistress, not his wife. 
 
 Bru. You are my true and honourable wife; 
 As dear to me as are the ruddy drops 16 
 That visit my sad heart. 290 
 
 l my dear lord 
 
 2 healthful 
 3 C/. I. iii. 48 
 ^moisture 
 6 damp 
 
 Hhat brings on 
 colds 
 
 Hmpure 
 
 8 baneful sick- 
 ness 
 
 °cast a spell 
 upon you 
 
 10 weighed down 
 with care 
 
 12 is a proviso 
 made that 
 
 lz in some degree 
 only, or with 
 certain re- 
 strictions 
 
 u bide 
 
 18 on the outskirts 
 
 16 the drops of 
 blood 
 
104 
 
 JULIUS CAESAR 
 
 [Act II 
 
 Por. If this were true, then should I know 
 this secret. 
 I grant, I am a woman; but withal 1 
 A woman that Lord Brutus took to wife: 
 I grant, I am a woman; but withal 
 A woman well-reputed, — Cato's daughter. 
 Think you I am no stronger than my sex, 
 Being so fathered, and so husbanded? 2 
 Tell me your counsels, I will not disclose 'em. 
 I have made strong proof of my constancy,* 
 Giving myself a voluntary* wound — 300 
 
 Can I bear that with patience, 
 And not my husband's secrets? 
 
 Bru. O ye gods, 
 
 Render me worthy of this noble wife! 
 
 [Knocking within. 
 Hark, hark! one knocks: Portia go in awhile; 
 And by-and-by thy bosom 5 shall partake 
 The secrets of my heart : 
 All my engagements I will construe 6 to thee, 
 All the chardctery of 7 my sad brows : 
 Leave me with haste. [Exit Portia. 
 
 Enter Lucius and Ligarius. 
 
 Lucius, who's that knocks? 8 
 Luc. Here is a sick man that would speak 310 
 
 with you. 
 Bru. Caius Ligarius,* that Metellus spake 
 
 of. 
 Boy, stand aside. — Caius Ligarius! how? 9 
 Lig. Vouchsafe 10 good morrow from a feeble 
 
 tongue. 
 Bru. O, what a time have you chose 11 out, 
 
 brave Caius, 
 
 x for all that 
 
 2 with such a 
 father and 
 such a hus- 
 band 
 
 ^severely tried 
 my powers of 
 endurance 
 
 ^self-inflicted 
 
 Hhe bosom is 
 often spoken 
 of as the re- 
 ceptacle of 
 secrets. Cf. 
 our phrase 
 "to unbosom 
 oneself" = to 
 reveal a secret 
 
 ^explain 
 
 Hhat is written 
 on; the accent 
 is here on the 
 2nd, not the 
 1st, syllable 
 
 8 who knocks 
 
 9 how is this 
 (expressive of 
 surprise) 
 
 10 deign to accept 
 
 n chosen 
 
 But cf. Plutarch: "Ligarius . . . was besides very familiar with 
 Brutus, who went to see him, being sick in his bed, and said unto him : 'Ligarius, 
 in what a time art thou sick!' " Ligarius rising up in his bed, and taking him 
 by the right hand, said unto him: 'Brutus,' said he, 'if thou hast any great 
 enterprise in hand worthy of thyself, I am whole.' " Shakespeare makes 
 Ligarius the visitor. 
 
Scene II] 
 
 JULIUS OESAB 
 
 105 
 
 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 healthful ear to hear of it. 
 
 Lig. By all the gods that Romans bow before, 320 
 I here discard my sickness !f Soul of Rome! 
 Brave son, derived from honourable loins! 
 Thou, like an exorcist, 1 hast conjured up 
 My mortified spirit. 2 Now bid me run, 
 And I will strive with things impossible; 
 Yea, get the better of them. What's to do? 3 
 
 Bru. A piece of work that will make sick men 
 whole.* 
 
 Lig. But are not some whole 5 that we must 
 make sick? 
 
 Bru. That must we also. What it is, my 
 Caius, 
 I shall unfold to thee, as we are going 330 
 
 To whom 6 it must be done. 
 
 Lig. Set on your foot, 7 
 
 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. 
 
 Scene II. Rome. A Room in Cesak's Palace. 
 Thunder and lightning. Enter Caesar in his night- 
 gown. 
 Cces. Nor heaven nor earth have* been at 
 peace to-night: 
 Thrice hath Calpurnia in her sleep cried out, 
 
 *a spirit raiser; 
 the accent is on 
 the first and 
 last syllables 
 
 hny spirit that 
 was dead; 
 pronounce 
 mortified 
 sp'rit 
 
 3 to be done, or 
 as we say, 
 "What is 
 there to do " 
 
 *make whole— 
 heal 
 
 Hn health, re' 
 ferring, of 
 course, to 
 Cozsar 
 
 Ho him to whom 
 
 1 set out, start 
 
 8t 'have," rather 
 than ' 'has" 
 as the idea is 
 "both" have 
 been stormy 
 
 * In Shakespeare's time it was the practice for sick people to tie a kerchief 
 (Fr. couvre-chef, i. e., a covering for the head) about their heads. But with 
 regard to Ligarius, this is, of course, an anachronism. 
 
 t The Clarendon Press edition says: ' 'He pulls off his kerchief." But it 
 seems rather to mean, l 'I cast off my sickness: your words have wrought my 
 instant cure." The words that follow point to this explanation. "Here" 
 would then simply mean ' 'here and now." If it refers to taking off the ker- 
 chief, "here" would mean ' 'herewith." 
 
106 
 
 JULIUS CJESAR 
 
 [Act II 
 
 "Help, ho! They murder Caesar !"— Who's 
 within? 
 
 Enter a Servant 
 Serv. My lord? 
 
 Cces. Go bid the priests do present 1 sacrifice, 
 And bring me their opinions of success. 
 Serv. I will, my lord. [Exit. 
 
 Enter Calpurnia. 
 Cal. What mean you, Caesar? think you to 
 walk forth? 
 You shall not stir out of your house to-day. 
 Cces. Caesar shall forth: 2 the things that 
 threaten' d me 
 Ne'er look'd but on my back; when they 
 
 shall see 
 The face of Caesar, they are vanished. 
 
 Cal. Caesar, I never stood on ceremonies, 3 * 
 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. 6 
 A lioness hath whelped 6 in the streets; 
 And graves have yawn'd, and yielded up their 
 
 dead; 
 Fierce fiery warriors fought upon the clouds, 
 In ranks and squadrons and right form of war, 
 Which drizzled blood upon the Capitol; 
 The noise of battle hurtled 1 in the air, 
 Horses did neigh, and dying men did groan, 
 And ghosts did shriek and squeal about the 
 
 streets. 
 O Caesar! these things are beyond all use, 6 
 And I do fear them. 
 
 Cces. What can be avoided 
 
 Whose end is purposed by the mighty gods? 
 
 10 
 
 20 
 
 Hmmediate. Cf. 
 the French 
 presente- 
 ment, which 
 always means 
 1 'immediate- 
 ly," "forth- 
 with" 
 
 hhall go forth. 
 Notice the ar- 
 rogance of 
 C cesar's tone, 
 even to his 
 wife: he 
 speaks in the 
 third person 
 
 3 heeded omens 
 
 4 sc. who 
 
 ^another ana- 
 chronism; 
 there were no 
 watchmen in 
 Rome at this 
 time 
 
 6 a dissyllable 
 
 ^clashed 
 
 1 quite contrary 
 to what is 
 usual 
 
 * For "stood on," cf. III. i. 100, in this sense :— 
 'tis but the time, 
 And drawing days out, that men stand upon. 
 Our modern phrase "to stand on ceremony'' is rather different, and means 
 to be on a formal footing; to act with formality. 
 
Scene II] 
 
 JULIUS C^SAR 
 
 107 
 
 Yet Caesar shall go forth; for these predictions 
 Are to the world in general as to Caesar.* 
 
 Cal. When beggars die there are no comets 
 seen; 30 
 
 The heavens themselves blaze 1 forth the death 
 of princes. 
 
 Cces. Cowards die many times before their 
 deathsjf 
 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 Servant. 
 What say the augurers? 2 
 
 Serv. They would not have you to stir forth 
 to-day. 
 Plucking the entrails of an offering forth, 
 They could not find a heart within the beast. 40 
 
 Cobs. The gods do this in shame of 3 cowardice: 
 Caesar should 4 be a beast without a heart 
 If he should stay at home to-day for fear. 
 No, Caesar shall not: danger knows full well 
 That Caesar is more dangerous than he. 
 We are two lions litter' d in one day, 
 And I the elder and more terrible: 
 And Caesar shall go forth. 
 
 Cal. Alas, my lord, 
 
 Your wisdom is consumed in confidence. 5 
 Do not go forth to-day: call it my fear 50 
 
 That keeps you in the house, and not your own. 
 We'll send Mark Antony to the senate-house, 
 And he shall say you are not well to-day: 
 Let me, upon my knee, prevail in this. 
 
 Cms. Mark Antony shall say I am not well, 
 And, for thy humour * I will stay at home. 
 
 l either "pro- 
 claim" or 
 1 'flash," or 
 
 — the two mean- 
 ings com- 
 bined 
 
 2 augurs. Cf. 
 II. i. 200 
 
 Ho put to shame 
 *would 
 
 °i. e. your sense 
 of security re- 
 duces your 
 wisdom to 
 nothing; your 
 boldness 
 makes you 
 unwise 
 
 Ho humour thee 
 {humour here 
 = fancy, and 
 we use the 
 verb 
 
 "humour" 
 in the sense of 
 indulging a 
 person's 
 fancies) 
 
 * Concern all others as much as me. 
 
 t The constant fear of cowards is a living death. 
 
108 
 
 JULIUS CiESAR 
 
 [Act II 
 
 Enter Decius. 
 Here's Decius Brutus, he shall tell them so. 
 
 Dec. Caesar, all hail! Good morrow, worthy 
 Caesar: 
 I come to fetch you to the senate-house. 
 
 Cces. And you are come in very happy time, 1 60 
 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. 
 
 Cat. Say he is sick. 
 
 Cces. Shall Caesar send a lie? 
 
 Have I in conquest stretch' d mine arm so 
 
 far, 
 To be afeard 2 to tell grey-beards the truth? 
 Decius, go tell them Caesar will not come. 
 
 Dec. Most mighty Caesar, let me know some 
 cause, 
 Lest I be laugh'd at when I tell them so. 70 
 
 Cces. 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 3 me at home: 
 She dreamed to-night 4 she saw my statua, 6 
 Which, like a fountain with an hundred spouts, 
 Did run pure blood; and many lusty 6 Romans 
 Came smiling, and did bathe their hands in it. 
 And these does she apply for warnings and 80 
 
 portents' 7 . 
 And 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 8 many pipes, 
 In which so many smiling Romans bathed, 
 Signifies that from you great Rome shall suck 
 Reviving blood, and that great men shall 
 press 9 
 
 l at a very op- 
 portune time 
 
 *afraid 
 
 z makes me stay 
 
 Hast night 
 b statue (here a 
 
 trisyllable) 
 ^stalwart 
 
 7 omens of evil. 
 Shakespeare 
 always ac- 
 cents the last 
 syllable of 
 this word 
 
 8 i. e. from or 
 with 
 
 9 crowd around 
 
Scene II] 
 
 JULIUS CiESAR 
 
 109 
 
 For tinctures, stains, relics, and cognizance:* 
 This by Calpurnia's dream is signified. 90 
 
 Cces. And this way have you well expounded it. 
 Dec. I have, when you have heard what I 
 
 can say: 
 And 1 know it now: the senate have concluded 
 To give this day a crown to mighty Caesar. 
 If you shall send them word you will not come, 
 Their minds may change. Besides, it were a 
 
 mock 2 
 Apt to be rendered, 3 for some one to say, 
 "Break up the senate till another time, 
 When Caesar's wife shall meet with better 
 
 dreams." 
 If Caesar hide himself, shall they not whisper 100 
 "Lo, Caesar is afraid?" 
 Pardon me, Caesar; for my dear, dear love 
 To your proceeding* bids me tell you this, 
 And reason to my love is liable. 5 
 
 Cces. How foolish do your fears seem now, 
 
 Calpurnia! 
 I am ashamed 6 1 did yield to them. — 
 Give me my robe, for I will go. 
 
 Enter Publius, Brutus, Ligarius, Metellus, 
 Casca, Trebonius, and Cinna. 
 
 And look where Publius is come to fetch me. 
 
 Pub. Good morrow, Caesar. 
 
 Cces. Welcome, Publius. 
 
 What, Brutus, are you stirr'd 7 so early too? — 110 
 Good morrow, Casca. — Caius Ligarius, 
 Caesar was ne'er so much your enemy 
 
 Haunt 
 z natural to be 
 
 uttered in 
 
 reply 
 
 Hhe very deep 
 interest I take 
 in all that 
 you do 
 
 ^subject 
 
 6 a trisyllable 
 
 ''stirring 
 
 * I. e. to dip and stain their handkerchiefs in your blood to keep as relics 
 and wear as badges. Others take the words ' 'tincture" and ' 'cognizance" in 
 their heraldic meaning, in which case the sentence would mean ' 'Great men 
 crowd round to receive rank and honours from you," but this seems less likely. 
 ' 'Cognizance" is plural. Words ending with an "s" sound frequently remain 
 unchanged both in the possessive singular (cf . for conscience' sake) and in the 
 plural. Cf. Sonnet 112, 10 (Shakespeare) : 
 
 my adder's sense 
 To critic and to flatterer stopped are. 
 
110 
 
 JULIUS CAESAR 
 
 [Act II 
 
 As that same ague which hath made you lean. 
 What is't o'clock? 
 
 Bru. Caesar, His strucken 1 eight. 
 
 Cobs. I thank you for your pains and courtesy. 
 Enter Antony. 
 See! Antony, that revels long o' nights, 
 Is notwithstanding up. Good morrow, Antony. 
 Ant. So 2 to most noble Caesar. 
 Cces. Bid them prepare within: 
 
 I am to blame to be thus waited for. 
 Now, Cinna: now, Metellus: what, Tre- 
 
 bonius! 120 
 
 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. Caesar, I will: [Aside] and so near will 
 I be, 
 That your best friends shall wish I had been 
 further. 
 Cces. Good friends, go in, and taste some 
 wine with me; 
 And we, like friends, will straightway go to- 
 gether. 
 Bru. [Aside] That every like is not the 
 same,* O Caesar, 
 The heart of Brutus yearns* to think upon! 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 Scene III. A Street near the Capitol. 
 
 Enter Artemidorus, reading a paper. 
 Art. "Caesar, 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 wronged Caius Ligarius. There 
 is but one mind in all these men, and it is bent 
 
 ^as struck; an 
 anachronism 
 Cf. II. i. 192 
 
 Hhe same 
 
 5 a dissyllable 
 
 ^grieves 
 
 * J. e. that things which seem the same are not always really so — a play 
 on the preceding ' 'like friends" : those who are like friends are not always 
 friends. Brutus has feelings of compunction at the show of friendship on the 
 part of those who are not real friends to Caesar. 
 
Scene IV] 
 
 JULIUS CiESAR 
 
 111 
 
 against Caesar. If thou beest not immortal, 
 look about you: security 1 gives way 2 to con- 
 spiracy. The mighty gods defend thee! 
 Thy lover* Artemidorus." 10 
 
 Here will I stand till Caesar pass along, 
 And as a suitor will I give him this. 
 My heart laments that virtue cannot live 
 Out of the teeth of emulation.* 
 If thou read this, O Caesar, thou may'st live: 
 If not, the Fates with traitors do contrive* 
 
 [Exit. 
 
 Scene IV. Rome. Another 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. 
 
 constancy, 6 be strong upon my side, 
 
 Set a huge mountain 'tween my heart and tongue! 1 
 
 1 have a man's mind, but a woman's might. 
 How hard it is for women to keep counsel! — 
 Art thou here yet? 
 
 Luc. Madam, what should I do? 10 
 
 Run to the Capitol, and nothing else? 
 And so return to you, and nothing else? 
 
 Por. Yes, bring me word, boy, if thy lord 
 look well. 
 For he went sickly forth : and take good note 
 What Caesar doth, what suitors press to him. 
 Hark, boy! what noise is that? 
 
 Luc. I hear none, madam. 
 
 Por. Prithee, listen well; 
 
 I heard a bustling rumour, 8 like a fray. 
 And the wind brings it from the Capitol. 
 
 Luc. Sooth, 9 madam, I hear nothing. 20 
 
 x over-confidence 
 {Latin se = 
 without, and 
 cura = care, 
 hence care- 
 lessness, free- 
 dom from 
 anxiety) 
 
 Heaves open the 
 way 
 
 3 friend 
 
 *free from the 
 attack of 
 jealous 
 rivalry 
 
 6 conspire 
 
 6 firmness 
 
 7 i. e. let not my 
 tongue reveal 
 my secrets 
 
 s noise of tumult 
 9 of a truth 
 
112 
 
 JULIUS C^SAE 
 
 [Act II 
 
 Enter Me Soothsayer. 
 Por. Come hither, fellow: which way hast 
 
 thou been? 
 Sooth. At mine own house, good lady. 
 Por. What is't o'clock? 
 Sooth. About the ninth hour, lady. 
 
 Por. Is Caesar 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 Caesar, hast 
 
 thou not? 
 Sooth. That I have, lady: if it will please 
 Caesar 
 To be so good to Caesar as to hear me, 
 I shall beseech him to befriend himself. 
 Por. Why, know'st thou any harm's 1 in- 
 tended towards him? 
 Sooth. None that I know will be, much that 
 I fear may chance. 
 Good morrow to you. Here the street is 
 
 narrow: 
 The throng that follows Caesar at the heels, — 
 Of senators, of praetors, common suitors, 2 
 Will crowd a feeble man almost to death: 
 I'll get me to a place more void, 3 and there 
 Speak to great Caesar as he comes along. 
 
 [Exit. 
 Por. I must go in. Ay me, how weak a 
 thing 
 The heart of woman is! O Brutus, 
 The heavens speed* thee in thine enterprise! — 
 Sure, the boy heard me: Brutus hath a suit 
 That Caesar 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. 6 
 
 30 
 
 l any harm 
 (that) is 
 
 Supplicants 
 
 3 open. Cf. 
 French vide 
 = empty , 
 open 
 
 40 
 
 prosper. 
 I. ii. i 
 
 Cf. 
 
Scene I] 
 
 JULIUS CAESAR 
 
 113 
 
 ACT III. 
 
 The Capitol; the Senate sitting 
 above. 
 
 Scene I. Rome. 
 
 A crowd of People in the street leading to the Capitol; 
 among them Artemidorus and the Soothsayer. 
 Flourish. Enter Caesar, Brutus, Cassius, 
 Casca, Decius, Metellus, Trebonius, Cinna, 
 Antony, Lepidus, Popilius, Publius, and 
 others. 
 
 Cces. [To the Soothsayer] The ides of March 
 
 are come. 
 Sooth. Ay, Caesar; but not gone. 
 Art. Hail, Caesar! Read this schedule. 1 
 Dec. Trebonius doth desire you to o'er-read, 
 At your best leisure, this his humble suit. 
 Art. O Caesar, read mine first; for mine's a 
 suit 
 That touches Caesar nearer: read it, great 
 Caesar. 
 Cces. What touches us our self shall be last 
 
 served. 2 
 Art. Delay not, Caesar; read it instantly. 
 Cces. What, is the fellow mad? 10 
 
 Pub. Sirrah, z give place. 4 
 
 Cas. What, urge you your petitions in the 
 street? 
 Come to the Capitol. 
 
 Cesar goes up to the Senate-House, the rest following 
 All the Senators rise. 
 Pop. I wish your enterprise to-day may 
 
 thrive. 
 Cas. What enterprise, Popilius? 
 Pop. Fare you well. 
 
 [Advances to Caesar. 
 Bru. What said Popilius Lena? 
 Cas. He wish'd to-day our enterprise might 
 thrive. 
 I fear our purpose is discovered. 5 
 
 Written paper 
 
 ^attended to, or 
 it may pos- 
 sibly mean 
 "presented" 
 
 3 jellow 
 
 4 get out of the 
 way 
 
 5 o quadrisyl- 
 lable 
 
114 
 
 JULIUS C^SAR 
 
 [Act III 
 
 Bru. Look, how he makes 1 to Caesar: mark 
 
 him. 
 Cas. Casca,be sudden, 2 for we fear prevention, 3 
 Brutus, what shall be done? If this be known, 20 
 Cassius or Caesar never shall turn back, 
 For I will slay myself.* 
 
 Bru. Cassius, be constant:* 
 
 Popilius Lena speaks not of our purposes; 
 For, look, he smiles, and Caesar doth not 
 change} 
 Cas. Treboniusf knows his time; for, look 
 you, Brutus, 
 He draws Mark Antony out of the way. 
 
 [Exeunt Antony and Trebonius. Caesar 
 
 and the Senators take their seats. 
 
 Dec. Where is Metellus Cimber? Let him 
 
 go, 
 
 And presently 6 prefer 7 his suit to Caesar. 
 Bru. He is address' d: s press near, and second 
 
 him. 
 Cin. Casca, you are the first that rears 9 your 
 
 hand. 30 
 
 Cms. Are we all ready? What is now amiss, 
 That Caesar and his senate must redress? 
 Met. Most high, most mighty, and most 
 puissant 10 Caesar, 
 Metellus Cimber throws before thy seat 
 An humble heart: — [Kneeling. 
 
 Cms. I must prevent 11 thee, Cimber. 
 
 These couchings, 12 t and these lowly courtesies, 13 
 
 1 presses forward 
 Cf .our phrase 
 ' ( lo make for 
 a place" 
 
 2 quick 
 
 frustration of 
 our plans (or 
 it might 
 mean "detec- 
 tion") 
 
 ^firm 
 
 6 i. e. change 
 countenance 
 
 ^straightway 
 ^present 
 heady 
 *to raise 
 
 10 powerful (a 
 dissyllable) 
 
 ^anticipate 
 n stoopings 
 13 humble kneel' 
 ings 
 
 * /. e. one of the two shall not return, for if I do not kill him I will kill 
 myself. 
 
 t Cf . North's Plutarch, Life of Brutus (Skeat's Ed.), p. 118: ' 'Trebonius on 
 the other side drew Antonius aside as he came into the house where the senate 
 sat, and held him with a long talk without." But in Plutarch's Life of Caesar 
 (Skeat's Ed.), p. 100, we read: ' 'Now Antonius, that was a faithful friend to 
 Caesar, and a valiant man besides of his hands, him Decius Brutus Albinus 
 entertained (i. e., kept) out of the senate-house, having begun a long tale of 
 set purpose." 
 
 t Couchings, probably derived like cove and cower from the French couver, 
 Latin cubare, to hatch or brood, and hence, to stoop over. 
 
Scene I] 
 
 JULIUS C^ESAE 
 
 115 
 
 Might fire the blood of ordinary men, 
 
 And turn pre-ordinance and first decree 1 
 
 Into the law of children. 2 Be not fond, 3 
 
 To think that Caesar bears such rebel* blood 40 
 
 That will be thaw'd from the true quality* 
 
 With 6 that which melteth fools; I mean sweet 
 
 words, 
 Low-crooked courVsies 7 and base spaniel-fawn- 
 ing. 
 Thy brother by decree is banished: 6 
 If thou dost bend and pray and fawn for him, 
 I spurn thee like a cur out of my way. 
 Know, Caesar doth not wrong, nor without 
 
 cause 
 Will he be satisfied. 
 
 Met. Is there no voice more worthy than my own, 
 To sound more sweetly in great Caesar's ear 50 
 For the repealing 9 of my banish' d brother? 
 
 Bru. I kiss thy hand, but not in flattery, 
 Caesar; 
 Desiring thee that Publius Cimber may 
 Have an immediate freedom of repeal. 10 
 
 Cws. What, Brutus! 
 
 Cas. Pardon, Caesar; Caesar, pardon: 
 
 As low as to thy foot doth Cassius fall, 
 To beg enfranchisement 11 for Publius Cimber. 
 
 Cass. I could be well moved, if I were as you; 
 If I could pray to move, 12 prayers would move 
 
 me: 
 But I am constant 13 as the northern star, 60 
 
 Of u whose true-fixed and resting 15 quality 16 
 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 17 place: 
 So, in the world; 'tis furnish'd well with men, 
 And men are flesh and blood, and apprehensive; 1 * * 
 
 r what has been 
 ordained be- 
 forehand and 
 decreed from 
 the beginning 
 
 2 puerility, 
 childishness 
 
 3 (so) foolish 
 (as) 
 4 i. e. that brooks 
 resistance to 
 authority 
 
 Hts true nature 
 
 "by 
 
 How bendings 
 of the knee 
 
 8 a trisyllable 
 
 ^recalling 
 
 vfree recall 
 
 liberty 
 
 B i. e. to try to 
 move others 
 from their re- 
 solves 
 
 13 immovable 
 
 u to 
 
 15 stable 
 
 ^nature 
 
 17 its 
 
 l3 receptive of 
 new impres- 
 sions 
 
 * For apprehensive in this sense, compare Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy, 
 p. 21: "By the apprehensive power, we perceive the species of sensible (i._ e. 
 perceptible) things, present or absent, and retain them, as wax doth the print 
 of a seal." 
 
116 
 
 JULIUS OESAK 
 
 [Act III 
 
 Yet in the number, I do know but one 
 That unassailable holds on his rank, 1 
 Unshaked of motion: 2 and that I am he, 70 
 
 Let me a little show it, even in this, 
 That I was constant Cimber should be banish'd, 
 And constant do remain to keep him so. 
 Cin. O Caesar, — 
 
 C(bs. Hence! Wilt thou lift up Olympus? 
 Dec. Great Caesar, — ■ 
 
 Cobs. Doth not Brutus bootless 3 kneel?* 
 
 Casca. Speak, hands, for me. 
 
 [Casca stabs Caesar in the neck. Caesar 
 catches hold of his arm. He is then 
 stabbed by the other Conspirators, and 
 last by Marcus Brutus. 
 Cces. Ettu, Brute!*— Then fall, Caesar! [Dies. 
 Cin. Liberty! Freedom '.Tyranny is dead! — 
 Run hence, proclaim, cry it about the streets. 
 Cas. Some to the common pulpits , 5 and cry 
 out, 80 
 
 "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 of 
 Caesar's 
 Should chance — 
 Bru. Talk not of standing. — Publius, good 
 cheer.- 6 
 There is no harm intended to your person, 90 
 Nor to no Roman else: 7 so tell them, Publius. 
 Cas. And leave us, Publius; lest that s the 
 people, 
 Rushing on us, should do your age some mis- 
 chief. 
 
 ^retains his 
 place 
 
 2 free from 
 motion, un- 
 moved 
 
 4 and thou, 
 Brutus! 
 
 Hhe public 
 rostra (plat- 
 forms); these 
 were in the 
 Forum 
 
 6 i. e. be of good 
 
 cheer 
 7 any other 
 
 Roman 
 
 Hest 
 
 * If Brutus kneels in vain, can you expect to prevail upon me. 
 
Scene I] 
 
 JULIUS C^SAE 
 
 117 
 
 Bru. Do so: and let no man abide 1 this deed 
 But we 2 the doers. 
 
 Re-enter Trebonius. 
 
 Cas. Where is Antony? 
 
 Tre. Fled to his house amazed: 
 
 Men, wives, and children stare, cry out and run, 
 As 3 it were doomsday. 
 
 Bru. Fates, we will know your pleasures: 
 That we shall die, we know; 'tis but the time, 
 And drawing* days out, that men stand upon. 5 100 
 
 Cas. Why, he that cuts off twenty years of 
 life 
 Cuts off so many years of fearing death. 
 
 Bru. Grant that, and then is death a benefit : 
 So are we Caesar's friends, that have abridged 
 His time of fearing death. — Stoop, Romans, 
 
 stoop, 
 And let us bathe our hands in Caesar's blood 
 Up to the elbows, and besmear our swords: 
 Then walk we 6 forth, even to the market-place, 
 And, waving our red 7 weapons o'er our heads, 
 Let's all cry, "Peace, freedom, and liberty!" 110 
 
 Cas. Stoop then, and wash. How many 
 ages hence 
 Shall this our lofty scene be acted over, 
 In states unborn, 8 and accents 9 yet unknown! 
 
 Bru. How many times shall Caesar bleed in 
 sport, 
 That 10 now on Pompey's basis 11 lies along, 12 
 No worthier than the dust! 
 
 Cas. So oft as that shall be, 
 
 So often shall the knot of us be call'd 
 The men that gave their country liberty. 
 
 Dec. What, shall we forth? 13 
 
 Cas. Ay, every man away: 
 
 Brutus shall lead; and we will grace his heels 120 
 With the most boldest 14 and best hearts of Rome. 
 Enter a Servant. 
 
 Bru. Soft! 15 who comes here? A friend of 
 Antony's, 
 
 x be responsible 
 for 
 
 3 as if 
 
 ^spinning 
 
 ^attach import- 
 ance to. Cf. 
 II. ii. 13 
 
 Het us walk 
 7 i. e., blood- 
 stained 
 
 *as yet un- 
 founded 
 
 ^languages 
 
 10 who 
 
 n the base of 
 Pompey's 
 statue 
 
 12 stretched out 
 
 lz go forth 
 
 14 double 
 superlative 
 
 ^hush! 
 
118 
 
 JULIUS CJESAR 
 
 [Act III 
 
 Serv. Thus, Brutus, did my master bid me 
 kneel; 
 Thus did Mark Antony bid me fall down, 
 And, being prostrate, 1 thus he bade me say: 
 Brutus is noble, wise, valiant, and honest; 2 
 Caesar was mighty, bold, royal, and loving: 
 Say I love Brutus, and I honour him; 
 Say I fear'd Caesar, honour'd him and loved him. 
 If Brutus will vouchsafe* that Antony 130 
 
 May safely come to him, and be resolved* 
 How Caesar hath deserved to lie in death, 
 Mark Antony shall not love Caesar dead 
 So well as Brutus living; but will follow 
 The fortunes and affairs of noble Brutus 
 Thorough 6 the hazards of this untrod state, 6 
 With all true faith. So says my master, 
 Antony. 
 
 Bru. Thy master is a wise and valiant 
 Roman; 
 I never thought him worse. 
 
 Tell him, so please him come 7 unto this place, 140 
 He shall be satisfied; 9 and, by my honour, 
 Depart untouch' d. 
 
 Serv. I'll fetch him presently. 9 [Exit. 
 
 Bru. I know that we shall have him well to 
 friend. 10 
 
 Cas. I wish we may: but yet have I a mind 11 
 That fears him much ; and my misgiving still 12 
 Falls shrewdly to the purpose 1Z 
 
 Re-enter Antony. 
 
 Bru. But here comes Antony. Welcome, 
 Mark Antony. 
 
 Ant. O mighty Caesar! dost thou lie so low? 
 Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils, 
 Shrunk to this little measure? Fare thee well. 150 
 I know not, gentlemen, what you intend, 
 Who else must be let blood, 14 who else is rank:* 
 
 x when prostrate 
 
 or kneeling 
 2 honorable 
 
 Heign to allow 
 Satisfied 
 
 Hhrough 
 6 new state of 
 affairs 
 
 Hf it please him 
 
 to come 
 ^convinced 
 
 9 at once 
 
 10 for our friend 
 11 presentiment 
 Constantly 
 13 turns out 
 well founded 
 
 u slain 
 
 * Rank. There is a double idea in this word : first, too full of blood and 
 corruption, and hence requiring to be bled (a gentle way of saying .' 'put to 
 death"); and second, growing too high like a luxuriant weed, and hence re- 
 quiring to be cut down. 
 
Scene I] 
 
 JULIUS C^SAE 
 
 119 
 
 If I myself, there is no hour so fit 
 
 As Caesar's death's hour; nor no 1 instrument 
 
 Of half that 2 worth as those your swords, made rich 
 
 With the most noble blood of all this world. 
 
 I do beseech ye, if you 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 6 to die: 160 
 
 No place will please me so, no mean 6 of death, 
 
 As here by 7 Caesar, and by you cut off, 
 
 The choice and master spirits of this age. 
 
 Bru. O Antony, beg not your death of us. 
 Though now we must appear bloody and cruel, 
 As, by our hands and this our present act, 
 You see we do, yet see you but our hands 
 And this the bleeding business 8 they have done: 
 Our hearts you see not; they are pitiful;* 
 And pity to 10 the general wrong of Rome — 170 
 As fire drives out fire, so pity pity — * 
 Hath done this deed on Caesar. For your part, 11 
 To you our swords have leaden points, Mark Antony, 
 Our arms, no strength of malice; 12 ^ and our hearts, 
 Of brothers' temper, do receive you in 13 
 With all kind love, good thoughts, and reverence. 
 
 Cas. Your voice 14 shall be as strong as any man's 
 In the disposing of new dignities 16 
 
 Bru. Only be patient, till we have appeased 
 The multitude, beside themselves with fear, 180 
 And then we will deliver 16 you the cause, 
 
 x any 
 2 such 
 
 3 bear me 
 enmity 
 
 4 if I live 
 
 "fit 
 
 hneans 
 
 7 by the side of 
 
 s this bloody deed 
 that 
 
 9 full of pity 
 
 10 for 
 
 n as far as you 
 are concerned 
 
 12 no feeling of 
 malice makes 
 our arms 
 strong 
 against you 
 
 ^welcome 
 
 xi vote 
 
 l5 offices 
 
 16 r elate to. We 
 talk now of 
 an orator's 
 ' " "delivery" 'in 
 the sense of 
 style or man- 
 ner of speak- 
 ing 
 
 * I. e. as the pain of a burn is supposed to be driven out by applying heat 
 to it, so our pity for Rome drives out our pity for Caesar. ^ It is a common 
 though erroneous idea that if one is burnt slightly, the pain is taken away by 
 holding the burnt part close to a fire. The homoeopathic principle of curing 
 diseases by small doses of poisons which would produce the same diseases in 
 healthy persons, and the prevention of disease by inoculation are similar ideas, 
 and often prove efficacious. (The first ' 'fire" is here a dissyllable). 
 
 t This is CapelTs emendation for "our arms in strength of malice; and," 
 etc., which wou'd mean either "made strong by hatred" or "made strong by 
 the deed of malice they have done." The arms powerful for evil are con- 
 trasted with their tender hearts. Above, Brutus says: ' 'Yet see you but oui- 
 hands . . . our hearts you see not." 
 
120 
 
 JULIUS C^SAR 
 
 [Act III 
 
 Why I, that did love Caesar when I struck him, 
 Have thus proceeded. 1 
 
 Ant. I doubt not of your wisdom. 
 
 Let each man render 2 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, — alas, what shall I say? 
 My credit 3 now stands on such slippery ground 
 That one of two bad ways you must conceit me, 4 
 Either a coward or a flatterer. 
 That I did love thee, Caesar, O, 'tis true: 
 If then thy spirit look upon us now, 
 Shall it not grieve thee, dearer 5 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? 5 
 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' 1 of friendship with thine enemies. 
 Pardon me, Julius! Here wast thou bay'd* 
 
 brave hart; 
 Here didst thou fall; and here thy hunters 
 
 stand, 
 Sign'din thy spoil, 9 and crimson'd in thy lethe. 10 * 
 
 190 
 
 200 
 
 l acted or be- 
 haved 
 2 give 
 
 ^reputation 
 
 4 you must think 
 of me in one 
 of two bad 
 ways 
 
 6 more deeply 
 
 ^corpse 
 
 ''end by making 
 terms 
 
 ^brought to bay 
 
 * distinguished 
 by the stains 
 of thy blood, 
 their trophy 
 
 Hife's blood 
 
 * Lethe is properly one of the rivers in the Lower World, whose waters the 
 souls of the dead drank of and were thereby rendered oblivious of all that 
 they had done or seen before. The commentators take it in this passage, 
 however, to mean "death," and to be coined from the Latin lethum (death), 
 the word lethal, in the sense of deadly, being common. But might it not, after 
 all, have its original sense? The conspirators have "crimsoned" themselves 
 in the river of Ccesar's blood, which has made them forget their former selves: 
 they are now going to live a totally new life; like the souls of the dead who 
 have drunk of the waters of Lethe, they have done with the past, they have 
 buried it in oblivion. We must remember that it is Antony who is speaking, 
 and that he is no great friend of the conspirators. 
 
Scene I] 
 
 JULIUS C^SAR 
 
 121 
 
 world, thou wast the forest to this hart; 1 
 And this, indeed, O world, the heart 1 of thee. 
 How like a deer, strucken 2 by many princes, 
 Dost thou here lie! 210 
 
 Cas. Mark Antony, — 
 
 Ant. Pardon me, Caius Cassius: 
 
 The enemies of Caesar shall say this; 
 Then, in a friend, it is cold modesty. 3 
 
 Cas. I blame you not for praising Caesar so; 
 But what compact mean you to have with us? 
 Will you be picked* in number of 5 our friends; 
 Or shall we on, 6 and not depend on you? 
 
 Ant. Therefore I took your hands; but was, 
 indeed, 
 Sway'd from the point, by looking down on 
 
 Caesar. 
 Friends am I with you all and love you all, 220 
 Upon this hope, 7 that you shall give me reasons 
 Why and wherein Caesar was dangerous. 
 
 Bru. Or else were this a savage spectacle. 
 Our reasons are so full of good regard* 
 That were you, Antony, the son of Caesar, 
 You should 9 be satisfied. 
 
 Ant. That's all I seek: 
 
 And am moreover suitor™ that I may 
 Produce 11 his body to the market-place 
 And in the pulpit, as becomes a friend, 
 Speak in the order™ of his funeral. 230 
 
 Bru. You shall, Mark Antony. 
 
 Cas. Brutus, a word with you, — 
 
 [Aside to Brutus] You know not what you do; 
 
 do not consent 
 That Antony speak in 19 his funeral. 
 Know you how much the people may be moved 
 By that which he will utter? 
 
 Bru. By your pardon; 1 * — 
 
 1 will myself into the pulpit first, 
 
 And show the reason of our Caesar's death : 
 What Antony shall speak, I will protest 16 
 He speaks by leave and by permission; 
 
 1 note the play 
 on the words 
 "hart" and 
 "heart" 
 
 Htruck or 
 stricken 
 
 Moderation 
 ^marked 
 
 Hn (the) num- 
 ber of 
 
 9 (go) on 
 
 Hn the hope; by 
 reason of the 
 hope 
 
 ^satisfactory 
 
 *would 
 
 n bring out 
 12 course 
 
 iz during 
 
 14 with your 
 permission 
 (The Latin 
 venia is simi' 
 larly used 
 both of * 'par- 
 don" and 
 "leave") 
 
 n set forth, de* 
 dare 
 
122 
 
 JULIUS CiESAR 
 
 [Act III 
 
 And that we are contented Caesar shall 240 
 Have all true rites and lawful ceremonies. 
 It shall advantage more than do us wrong. 1 
 
 Cas. I know not what may fall', 2 I like it not. 
 
 Bru. Mark Antony, here, take you Caesar's 
 body. 
 You shall not in your funeral speech blame us, 
 But speak all good you can devise of Caesar, 
 And say, you do't by our permission;* 
 Else shall you not have any hand at all 
 About his funeral: and you shall speak 
 In the same pulpit whereto* I am going, 250 
 After my speech is ended. 
 
 Ant. Be it so; 
 
 I do desire no more. 
 
 Bru. Prepare the body, then, and follow us. 
 [Exeunt all but 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 in the tide of times. b 
 Woe to the hand that shed this costly blood! 
 Over thy wounds now do I prophesy, — 
 Which, like dumb mouths, do ope 6 their ruby 260 
 
 lips, 
 To beg the voice and utterance of my tongue — 
 A curse shall light upon the limbs of men;* 
 Domestic fury and fierce civil strife, 1 
 Shall cumber 8 all the parts of Italy; 
 Blood and destruction shall be so in use, 9 
 And dreadful objects so familiar 
 That mothers shall but smile when they behold 
 Their infants quarter' d 10 with 11 the hands of war; 
 All pity choked 12 with custom of 13 fell 1 * deeds: 
 
 x will do us more 
 good than 
 harm 
 
 2 happen (We 
 still use * 'be- 
 fall" and 
 "fallout" in 
 this sense) 
 
 3 a quadrisyl- 
 lable 
 
 Ho which 
 
 Hapse of ages 
 
 *open 
 
 7 i. e. households 
 shall be di- 
 vided against 
 themselves, 
 Romans 
 against 
 Romans 
 
 ^oppress 
 
 & usual 
 
 ^slaughtered 
 
 "by 
 
 12 being choked 
 
 13 with the fre- 
 quency of, or 
 with the hav- 
 ing grown ac- 
 customed to 
 
 u cruel 
 
 * I. e. men shall be struck with paralysis, lameness, blindness, and all sorts 
 of bodily infirmities. There is nothing uncommon in invoking curses on a 
 person's "limbs," and certainly no reason to alter the text as some have sug- 
 gested. Bodily infirmities are even nowadays considered by the vulgar to be 
 a judgment or curse of heaven. 
 
Scene II] 
 
 JULIUS CJESAK 
 
 123 
 
 And Caesar's spirit, ranging 1 for revenge, 270 
 
 With Ate 2 by his side come hot from hell, 
 Shall in these confines 3 with a monarch's voice 
 Cry "Havoc!" 4 and let slip 5 the dogs of war; 6 
 That 7 this foul deed shall smell above the earth 
 With carrion 9 men, groaning for 9 burial. 
 
 Enter a Servant. 
 You serve Octavius Caesar, do you not? 
 
 Serv. I do, Mark Antony. 
 
 Ant. Caesar 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, — ■ 280 
 O Caesar! — [Seeing the body. 
 
 Ant. Thy heart is big, 10 get thee apart and 
 weep. 
 Passion, 11 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 chanced: 
 Here is a mourning Rome, a dangerous Rome, 
 No Rome 12 of safety for Octavius yet; 
 Hie 13 hence, and tell him so. Yet, stay awhile; 290 
 Thou shalt not back, u till I have borne this 
 
 corse 15 
 Into the market-place: 16 there shall I try, 
 In my oration, how the people take 
 The cruel issue 17 of these bloody men; 
 According to the which 18 thou shalt discourse 
 To young Octavius of the state of things. 
 Lend me your hand. 19 
 
 [Exeunt with Caesar's body. 
 
 Scene II. Rome. The Forum. 
 Enter Brutus and Cassius, and a throng o/Citizens 
 Citizens. We will be satisfied; 20 let us be 
 satisfied. 
 
 Scouring the 
 land 
 
 Hhe goddess of 
 revenge 
 
 Hhis district. 
 Cf. Latin 
 finis, which 
 in the plural 
 means terri- 
 tories 
 
 4 i. e. ' 'no 
 quarter!" 
 
 ^unleash 
 
 6 i. e. famine, 
 sword, and 
 fire. Cf. 
 Henry V., 
 Prologue, I. 7 
 
 7 so that 
 
 hotting 
 
 ^crying for 
 
 10 swollen, burst- 
 ing with sor- 
 row 
 
 n grief 
 
 12 a play on the 
 word ' 'room" 
 ^hasten 
 xi go back 
 l5 corpse 
 16 Forum 
 
 l7 deed 
 
 l8 i. e. the way 
 
 they take it 
 19 we say "Lend 
 
 me a, hand" 
 
 20 we must have 
 an explana- 
 tion of this 
 matter 
 
124 
 
 JULIUS C^SAE 
 
 [Act III 
 
 Bru. Then follow me, and give me audience, 
 friends. 
 
 Cassius, go you into the other street, 
 
 And part the numbers. 1 
 
 Those that will hear me speak, let 'em stay- 
 here; 
 
 Those that will follow Cassius, go with him; 
 
 And public reasons shall be rendered 2 
 
 Of Caesar's death. 
 
 1 Cit. I will hear Brutus speak. 
 
 2 Cit. I will hear Cassius; and compare* 
 their reasons, 
 
 When severally we hear them rendered 2 10 
 
 [Exit Cassius, with some of the Citizens. 
 Brutus goes into the pulpit. 
 
 3 Cit. The noble Brutus is 4 ascended: silence! 
 Bru. Be patient till the last.* 
 
 Romans, countrymen, and lovers! 6 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 7 
 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 
 Caesar's, to him I say, that Brutus' love to 20 
 Caesar was no less than his. If then that 
 friend demand, why Brutus rose against Caesar 
 this is my answer: — Not that I loved Caesar 
 less, but that I loved Rome more. Had you 
 rather Caesar were living, and die all slaves, 
 than that Caesar were dead, to live all free men? 
 As Caesar 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 9 tears for his love; joy for 30 
 his fortune; honour for his valour; and death 
 for his ambition. Who is here so base, that 
 would be 10 a bondman? If any, speak; for him 
 have I offended . Who is here so rude, that would 
 
 divide the 
 crowd 
 
 2 a trisyllable; 
 given 
 
 'compare we, 
 let us com- 
 
 
 pare 
 
 *has 
 h end 
 friends 
 
 1 judge {Latin 
 censeo) 
 
 8 his good 
 fortune (The 
 Clarendon 
 Press edition 
 says,"at your 
 prosperity," 
 but this seems 
 impossible) 
 
 *are 
 
 10 as to wish U> be 
 
Scene II] 
 
 JULIUS CJESAR 
 
 125 
 
 not be a Roman? 1 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. I pause for a reply. 
 
 All. None, Brutus, none. 
 
 Bru. Then none have I offended. I have dO 
 done no more to Caesar than you shall do to 
 Brutus. The question of his death is enrolled 2 
 in the Capitol; his glory not extenuated* 
 wherein he was worthy, nor his offences en- 
 forced,* for which he suffered death. 
 
 Enter Antony and others, with Caesar's body. 
 
 Here comes his body, mourned by Mark 
 Antony: who, though he had no hand in his 
 death, shall receive the benefit of his dying, 
 a place in the commonwealth; as which of you 
 shall not? With this 5 I depart, — that, as I 50 
 slew my best lover for the good of Rome, I have 
 the same dagger for myself, when it shall please 
 my country to need my death. 
 All. Live, Brutus! live! live! 
 
 1 Cit. Bring him with triumph home unto 
 his house. 
 
 2 Cit. Give him a statue with his ancestors. 
 
 3 Cit. Let him be Caesar. 
 
 4 Cit. Caesar's better parts 6 
 Shall now be crown' d? in Brutus. 
 
 1 Cit. We'll bring him to his house with 
 shouts and clamours. 
 
 Bru. My countrymen,-*— 
 
 2 Cit. Peace! silence! Brutus speaks. 60 
 1 Cit. Peace, ho! 
 
 Bru. Good countrymen, let me depart alone, 
 And, for my sake, stay here with Antony: 
 Do grace 9 to Caesar's corse* and grace his speech 
 Tending to Caesar's glories, which Mark 
 
 Antony, 
 By our permission, is allow'd to make. 
 I do entreat you, not a man depart, 
 
 huch a bar- 
 barian as to 
 wish not to be 
 a Roman 
 
 Recorded 
 z belittled 
 
 ^magnified 
 
 H.e. with this 
 remark (re- 
 ferring to 
 what follows) 
 
 Qualities 
 7 i. e. shall 
 reach their 
 culmination 
 or crowning 
 point 
 
 8 honor 
 
 9/ 
 
 'corpse 
 
126 
 
 JULIUS CAESAR 
 
 [Act III 
 
 Save I 1 alone, till Antony have spoke. 2 [Exit. 
 1 Cit. Stay, ho! and let us hear Mark 
 Antony. 
 
 3 Cit. Let him go up into the public chair; 70 
 We'll hear him. Noble Antony, go up. 
 
 Ant. For Brutus' sake, I am beholding 3 to 
 you. 
 
 [Goes into the pulpit. 
 
 4 Cit. What does he say of Brutus? 
 
 3 Cit. He says, for Brutus' sake, 
 He finds himself beholding 3 to us all. 
 
 4 Cit. 'Twere best he speak no harm of 
 Brutus here. 
 
 1 Cit. This Caesar was a tyrant. 
 3 Cit. Nay, that's certain: 
 
 We are blessed that Rome is rid of him. 
 
 2 Cit. Peace! let us hear what Antony can say. 80 
 Ant. You gentle 4 Romans, — 
 
 Citizens. Peace, ho! let us hear him. 
 
 Ant. Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me 
 your ears; 5 
 I come to bury* Caesar, not to praise him. 
 The evil that men do lives after them ; 
 The good is oft interred 6 with their bones; 
 So let it be with Caesar, f The noble Brutus 
 Hath told you Caesar was ambitious: 
 If it were so, it was a grievous fault, 
 And grievously hath Caesar answer' d it. 7 90 
 
 Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest, — 
 For Brutus is an honourable man, 
 So are they all, all honourable men, — 
 Come I to speak in 9 Caesar's funeral. 
 He was my friend, faithful and just to me: 
 But Brutus says he was ambitious; 
 And Brutus is an honourable man. 
 He hath brought many captives home to Rome, 
 
 2 spoken 
 
 3 beholden, 
 obliged 
 
 
 Hn the sense of 
 our ' 'gentle- 
 men" 
 
 Histen to me 
 
 6 a trisyllable 
 
 ^suffered for it, 
 paid for it. 
 (We still say 
 1 'He has a 
 great deal to 
 answer for" 
 in nearly the 
 same sense) 
 
 ^during or at 
 
 * An anachronism : at this time the dead were burnt on a funeral pyre. 
 
 (Cf. III. ii. 263) 
 t This refers to ' 'the good " only, and not to ' 'the evil." Let Caesar's good 
 deeds be interred with him : I will not speak of them. 
 
Scene II] 
 
 JULIUS CJESAR 
 
 127 
 
 Whose ransoms did the general coffers 1 fill: 
 
 Did this in Caesar seem ambitious? 100 
 
 When that 2 the poor have cried, Caesar hath 
 
 wept: 
 Ambition should be made of sterner stuff: 
 Yet Brutus says he was ambitious; 
 And Brutus is an honourable man. 
 You all did see that on the Lupercal* 
 I thrice presented him a kingly crown, 
 Which he did thrice refuse: was this am- 
 bition? 
 Yet Brutus says he was ambitious; 
 And, sure, he is an honourable man. 
 I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke, 110 
 But here I am to speak what I do know. 
 You all did love him once, not without cause: 
 What cause withholds you then, to mourn 3 for 
 him? 
 
 judgment! thou art fled to brutish beasts, 
 And men have lost their reason! Bear with 
 
 me; 
 My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, 
 And I must pause till it come back to me. 
 
 1 Cit. Methinks there is much reason in his 
 sayings. 
 
 2 Cit. If thou consider rightly of the matter, 
 Caesar has had great wrong. 120 
 
 3 Cit. Has he, masters? 4 
 
 1 fear there will a worse come in his place. 
 
 4 Cit. Mark'd ye his words? He would not 
 take the crown: 
 
 Therefore 'tis certain he was not ambitious. 
 1 Cit. If it be found so, some will dear abide 
 it. 6 
 
 Hhe treasury of 
 
 the state 
 2 when 
 
 3 from mourning 
 
 4 my men 
 
 6 if this be found 
 to be true, 
 some will pay 
 dearly for it 
 
 * Mr. Wright (Clarendon Press) points out that the Lupercal was the cave 
 or grotto in which Romulus and Remus were found, whereas Shakespeare 
 speaks of it as a hill. But surely ' 'on the Lupercal" means ' 'during the festival 
 of the Lupercalia." The preposition "on" is the natural one to express a 
 point of time. We say, e. g., "on Sunday" "on the 1st of the month." In 
 I. i. 75 we have "it is the feast of Lupercal" i. e., the feast Lupercal, where 
 Lupercal is the name of the feast, and certainly not of a mountain. 
 
128 
 
 JULIUS CiESAR 
 
 [Act III 
 
 2 Cit. Poor soul! his eyes are red as fire with 
 weeping. 
 
 3 Cit. There's not a nobler man in Rome 
 than Antony. 
 
 4 Cit. Now mark him, he begins again to 
 speak. 
 
 Ant. But yesterday the word of Caesar 
 
 might 
 Have stood against the world: now lies he 
 
 there, 130 
 
 And none so poor to do him reverence.* 
 
 masters, 1 if I were disposed to stir 
 
 Your hearts and minds to mutiny and rage, 
 
 1 should do Brutus wrong, and Cassius wrong, 
 Who, you all know, are honourable men: 
 
 I will not do them wrong; I rather choose 
 To wrong the dead, to wrong myself, and you, 
 Than / will wrong 2 such honourable men. 
 But here's a parchment with the seal of Caesar; 
 I found it in his closet, 'tis his will: 140 
 
 Let but the commons 3 hear this testament, — 
 Which, pardon me, I do not mean to read, — 
 And they would go and kiss dead Caesar's 
 
 wounds 
 And dip their napkins 4 in his sacred blood, 
 Yea, beg a hair of him for memory, 
 And, dying, mention it within their wills, 
 Bequeathing it, as a rich legacy, 
 Unto their issue. 
 
 4 Cit. We'll hear the will: read it, Mark 
 
 Antony. 
 All. The will, the will! we will hear Caesar's 
 
 will. 150 
 
 Ant. Have patience, gentle friends, I must 
 
 not read it; 
 It is not meet you know how Caesar loved you. 
 
 l my men 
 
 Hhould strictly 
 be li to 
 wrong" 
 
 s populace 
 
 handkerchiefs 
 
 
 * /. e. and (there is) none so poor (i. e. so lowly) (as) to do him reverence. 
 The commentators seem to find needless difficulty in interpreting this line. 
 The meaning is obvious, and the ellipsis natural. Cf . Twelfth Night, II. iv. 99 : 
 "No woman's heart so big to hold so much," i.e. so big as to, etc.; and cf. 
 also Julius Ccesar, IV. iii« 79: "so covetous, to lock." 
 
Scene II] 
 
 JULIUS C^SAE 
 
 129 
 
 You are not wood, you are not stones, but men; 
 And, being men, hearing the will of Caesar, 
 It will inflame you, it will make you mad: 
 'Tis good you know not that you are his heirs; 
 For, if you should, O, what would come of it! 
 
 4 Cit. Read the will! we'll hear it, Antony; 
 You shall read us the will, Caesar's will. 
 
 Ant. Will you be patient? will you stay 
 awhile? 160 
 
 I have o'ershot myself 1 to tell you of it: 
 I fear I wrong the honourable men 
 Whose daggers have stabb'd Caesar; I do 
 fear it. 
 
 4 Cit. They were traitors: honourable men! 
 
 All. The will! the testament! 
 
 2 Cit. They were villains, murderers: the 
 will! read the will! 
 
 Ant. You will compel me, then, to read the 
 will? 
 Then make a ring about the corse 2 of Caesar, 
 And let me show you him that made the will. 
 Shall I descend? and will you give me leave? 170 
 
 AIL Come down. 
 
 2 Cit. Descend. 
 
 3 Cit. You shall have leave. [He comes 
 
 4 Cit. A ring; stand round. down. 
 
 1 Cit. Stand from 3 the hearse*, stand from 
 the body. 
 
 2 Cit. Room for Antony, most noble 
 Antony. 
 
 Ant. Nay, press 5 not so upon me; stand far 
 off. 
 
 Citizens. Stand back! Room! Bear back! 
 
 Ant. If you have tears, prepare to shed 
 them now. 
 You all do know this mantle: I remember 180 
 The first time ever Caesar put it on; 
 'Twas on a summer's evening, in his tent, 
 That day he overcame the Nervii: 6 
 Look, in this place ran Cassius' dagger through : 
 
 1 gone too far 
 
 'corpse 
 
 z away from 
 ^coffin 
 
 5 crowd 
 
 6 a Belgic tribe 
 defeated by 
 Cozsar at the 
 battle of the 
 Sambre, 
 57 b. c. 
 
130 
 
 JULIUS CAESAR 
 
 [Act III 
 
 See what a rent the envious 1 Casca made: 
 Through this, the well-beloved Brutus stabb'd; 
 And, as he plucked his cursed steel away, 
 Mark how the blood of Caesar follow'd it, 
 As 2 rushing out of doors, to be resolved 3 
 If Brutus so unkindly knock' d, A or no; 190 
 
 For Brutus, as you know, was Caesar's angel: 6 
 Judge, O you gods, how dearly Caesar loved 
 
 him! 
 This was the most unkindest 6 cut of all; 
 For when the noble Caesar saw him stab, 
 Ingratitude, more strong than traitor's arms, 
 Quite vanquish'd him: then burst his mighty 
 
 heart; 
 And, in his mantle muffling up his face, 
 Even at the base of Pompey's statua, 
 Which all the while ran blood, great Caesar fell. 
 O, what a fall was there, my countrymen! 200 
 Then I, and you, and all of us fell down, 
 Whilst bloody treason flourished' 1 over us. 
 O, now you weep, and I perceive, you feel 
 The dint* of pity: these are gracious drops. 
 Kind souls, what, weep you when you but 
 
 behold 
 Our Caesar's vesture wounded? Look you 
 
 here. 
 Here is himself, marr'd, 10 as you see, with" 
 
 traitors. 
 
 Cit. O piteous spectacle! 
 
 Cit. O noble Caesar! 
 
 at. O woful day! 210 
 
 O traitors! villains! 
 O most bloody sight! 
 We will be revenged. 
 
 Revenge! About! Seek! Burn! 
 Kill ! Slay ! Let not a traitor live ! 
 
 1 
 2 
 3 
 
 4 at. 
 i at. 
 2 at 
 
 Citizens. 
 Fire! 
 Ant. Stay, countrymen. 
 
 1 at. Peace there! hear the noble Antony. 
 
 2 at. We'll hear him, we'll follow him, 
 we'll die with him. 
 
 hnalicious 
 
 2 as if 
 Ascertain 
 ^struck 
 5 second self 
 (alter ego) 
 
 6 double 
 superlative 
 
 7 stood 
 
 triumphant 
 Hmpression 
 °holy 
 
 w mangled 
 
 Uhu 
 
Scene II] 
 
 JULIUS CiESAR 
 
 131 
 
 Ant. Good friends, sweet friends, let me not 
 
 stir you up 
 To such a sudden flood of mutiny. 220 
 
 They that have done this deed are honourable: 
 What private griefs 1 they have, alas, I know not, 
 That made them do it: they are wise and 
 
 honourable, 
 And will, no doubt, with reasons answer you. 
 I come not, friends, to steal away your hearts : 2 
 I am no orator, as Brutus is; 
 But, as you know me all, a plain blunt man, 
 That love my friend ; and that they know full well 
 That gave me public leave to speak of him. 
 For I have neither wit, 3 nor words, nor worth, 230 
 Action, nor utterance,* nor the power of speech, 
 To 5 stir men's.blood : I only speak right on; 6 
 I tell you that which you yourselves do know; 
 Show you sweet Caesar's wounds, poor, poor, 
 
 dumb mouths, 
 And bid them speak for me : but were I Brutus, 
 And Brutus Antony, there were an Antony 7 
 Would ruffle 8 up your spirits, and put a tongue 
 In every wound of Caesar that should move 
 The stones of Rome to rise and mutiny. 
 Citizens. We'll mutiny. 
 
 1 Cit. We'll burn the house of Brutus. 240 
 3 Cit. Away, then! come, seek the conspirators. 
 Ant. Yet hear me, countrymen ; yet hear me speak. 
 Citizens. Peace, ho! 9 Hear Antony. Most 
 
 noble Antony. 
 
 Ant. Why, friends, you go to do you know not what : 
 Wherein hath Caesar thus deserved your loves? 10 
 Alas, you know not, — I will tell you then: 
 You have forgot 11 the will I told you of. 
 
 Citizens. Most true: the will! Let's stay and 
 hear the will. 
 
 Ant. Here is the will, and under Caesar's seal : — 
 To every Roman citizen he gives, 250 
 
 To every several 12 man, seventy-five drachmas. 13 
 
 2 Cit. Most noble Caesar! We'll revenge his death 
 
 3 Cit. O royal Caesar! 
 
 grievances 
 
 Head you astray 
 by working 
 on your 
 emotions 
 
 Hntelligence 
 *fine elocution 
 
 5 so as to 
 
 6 straighton,i.e. 
 without stop- 
 ping to weigh 
 what I am 
 going to say 
 
 7 he would be an 
 Antony who, 
 etc. 
 
 s stir 
 
 Hherel 
 
 ^either ( 'your 
 manifesta- 
 tions of love" 
 or ' 'the love of 
 you all" 
 
 n forgotten 
 
 ^separate 
 13 about fourteen 
 
 and a half 
 
 dollars 
 
132 
 
 JULIUS C^SAR 
 
 [Act III 
 
 Ant. Hear me with patience. 
 
 Citizens. Peace, ho! 
 
 Ant. Moreover, he hath left you all his walks, 
 His private arbours, and new-planted orchards, 
 On this side Tiber; 1 he hath left them you, 
 And to your heirs for ever; common pleasures, 
 To walk abroad 2 and recreate 3 yourselves. 260 
 Here was a Caesar! when comes such another? 
 
 1 Cit. Never, never! Come away, away! 
 We'll burn his body in the holy place, 
 
 And with the brands fire* the traitors' houses. 
 Take up the body. 
 
 2 Cit. Go fetch fire. 
 
 3 Cit. Pluck* down benches. 
 
 4 Cit. Pluck 5 down forms, windows, anything. 
 
 [Exeunt Citizens, with the body. 
 Ant. Now let it work.* Mischief, thou art afoot, 
 Take thou what course thou wilt! 
 Enter a Servant. 
 
 How now, fellow! 270 
 Serv. Sir, Octavius is already come to Rome. 
 Ant. Where is he? 
 
 Serv. He and Lepidus are at Caesar's house. 
 Ant. And thither will I 7 straight to visit him: 
 He comes upon a wish. 9 Fortune is merry, 
 And in this mood will give us anything. 
 
 Serv. I heard him say, Brutus and Cassius 
 Are rid 9 like madmen through the gates of Rome. 
 
 Ant. Belike 10 they had some notice of 11 the people, 
 How I had moved them. Bring me to Octavius. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 Scene III. Rome. A Street. 
 Enter Cinna, the Poet. 
 Cin. I dreamt to-night 12 that I did feast with Caesar , 
 And things unlucky charge my fantasy. 13 
 I have no will to wander forth 14 of doors, 
 Yet something leads me forth. 
 Enter Citizens. 
 1 Cit. What is your name? 
 
 l i. e. on the 
 Forum side 
 of the Tiber, 
 though 
 Casar's 
 gardens were 
 really on the 
 other side 
 
 2 for walking 
 abroad in 
 
 ^refreshing, or 
 it may mean 
 amusing, as 
 we now use 
 the word 
 recreation. 
 Possibly the 
 two ideas are 
 both con- 
 tained in the 
 word 
 
 A a dissyllable 
 
 5 pull, tear 
 
 6 i. e. let the fer- 
 ment I have 
 produced go 
 on by itself 
 
 7 will I go 
 
 s just as I was 
 wishing for 
 him 
 
 9 have ridden 
 
 10 probably 
 
 u intimation 
 about. Cf. 
 our phrase 
 "news of a 
 thing" 
 
 l2 last night 
 u weigh upon 
 my imagina- 
 tion 
 u out 
 
Scene III] 
 
 JULIUS CiESAK 
 
 133 
 
 2 Cit. Whither are you going? 
 
 3 Cit. Where do you dwell? 
 
 4 Cit. Are you a married man, or a bachelor? 
 
 2 Cit. Answer every man directly. 1 
 
 1 Cit. Ay, and briefly. 10 
 4 Cit. Ay, and wisely. 
 
 3 Cit. Ay, and truly, you were best. 2 
 
 Cin. What is my name? Whither am I 
 going? Where do I dwell? Am I a 
 married man or a bachelor? Then, to answer 
 every man directly and briefly, wisely and 
 truly: wisely I say, I am a bachelor. 
 
 2 Cit. That's as much as to say, they are 
 fools that marry: you'll bear me a bang 3 for 
 that, I fear. Proceed; directly. 20 
 
 Cin. Directly,* I am going to Caesar's funeral. 
 
 1 Cit. As a friend, or an enemy? 
 Cin. As a friend. 
 
 2 Cit. That matter is answered directly. 
 
 4 Cit. For your dwelling, briefly. 
 Cin. Briefly, I dwell by the Capitol. 
 
 3 Cit. Your name, sir, truly. 
 Cin. Truly, my name is China. 
 
 1 Cit. Tear him to pieces; he's a conspirator. 
 Cin. I am Cinna the poet, I am Cinna the 
 
 poet. 30 
 
 4 Cit. Tear him for his bad verses, tear him 
 for his bad verses. 
 
 Cin. I am not Cinna the conspirator. 
 
 2 Cit. It is no matter, his name's Cinna; 
 pluck but his name out of his heart, and turn 
 him going. 5 
 
 3 Cit. Tear him, tear him! Come, brands, 
 ho! fire-brands! To Brutus', to Cassius'; 
 burn all. Some to Decius' house and some 
 to Casca's; some to Ligarius'. Away! go! 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 straight- 
 forwardly 
 
 Ht were best for 
 you 
 
 z Vll see that you 
 bear {receive) 
 a blow 
 
 4 a quibble on the 
 word; here it 
 means l 'im- 
 mediately" 
 
 6 pack him off 
 
134 
 
 JULIUS CJESAR 
 
 [Act IV 
 
 ACT IV. 
 
 Scene I. Rome. 1 A Room in Antony's House. 
 Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus, seated at a table 
 
 Ant. These 2 many, then, shall die; their 
 names are down. 3 
 
 Oct. Your brother 4 too must die; consent 
 you, Lepidus? 
 
 Lep. I do consent — 
 
 Oct. Jot him down, Antony. 
 
 Lep. Upon condition Publius* shall not live, 
 Who is your sister's son, Mark Antony. 
 
 Ant. He shall not live; look, with a spot 5 I 
 damn 6 him. 
 But Lepidus, go you to Caesar's house; 
 Fetch the will hither, and we shall determine 
 How to cut off some charge in legacies. 7 
 
 Lep. What, shall I find you here? 10 
 
 Oct. Or* here, or at the Capitol. 
 
 [Exit Lepidus. 
 
 Ant. This is a slight? unmeritable 10 man, 
 Meet to be sent on errands: is it fit, 
 The three-fold world divided, 11 he should stand 12 
 One of the three to share it? 
 
 Oct. So you thought him; 13 
 
 And took his voice 14 who should be picked 15 to die, 
 In our black sentence and proscription. 
 
 Ant. Octavius, I have seen more days than 
 you:f 
 And though we lay these honours on this man, 
 To ease ourselves of divers slanderous loads, 16 20 
 He shall but bear them as the ass bears gold, 
 To groan and sweat under the business, 
 Either led or driven as we point the way; 
 And having brought our treasure where we will, 
 
 1 the meeting 
 was really 
 near Bolonia 
 on a little 
 island, and 
 did not take 
 place till 
 October, 43 
 
 B. C. 
 
 2 $0 
 
 Hicked off, 
 
 marked down 
 4 Paulus 
 
 5 i. e., by writ- 
 ing his name 
 ^condemn 
 
 7 cut down some 
 of the legacies 
 ("charge" is 
 equivalent to 
 "burden") 
 
 8 either 
 
 ^worthless 
 
 10 i. e. without 
 merit 
 
 n that in a three- 
 fold division 
 of the world 
 
 12 be left 
 
 13 you thought 
 him a fit per- 
 son 
 
 14 allowed him a 
 vote in our 
 councils 
 
 ^condemned 
 
 l6 sundry loads 
 of abusive at- 
 tacks 
 
 *Publius. Plutarch says (Skeat's Ed., p. 169): "Antonius also forsook 
 Lucius Ccesar, who was his uncle by his mother." Either Shakespeare has 
 made a slip both in the name and relationship or the text is corrupt. 
 
 t Antony was about twenty years older than Octavius, who was at this 
 time twenty. 
 
Scene I] 
 
 JULIUS C^SAR 
 
 135 
 
 Then take we down his load, and turn 1 him off; 
 Like to the empty ass, to shake his ears 
 And graze in 2 commons.* 
 
 Oct. You may do your will; 
 
 But he's a tried and valiant soldier. 3 
 
 Ant. So is my horse, Octavius; and for 
 
 that 
 I do appoint* him store of provender. 5 
 It is a creature that I teach to fight, 
 To wind, 6 to stop, to run directly 7 on, 
 His corporal 8 motion govern' d by my spirit. 
 And, in some taste, 9 is Lepidus but so; 
 He must be taught, and train' d, and bid go 
 
 forth; 
 A barren-spirited 10 fellow; one that feeds 
 On objects, arts,f and imitations, 
 Which, out of use and staled by other men, 
 Begin his fashion: 11 do not talk of him 
 But as a property. 12 And now, Octavius, 
 Listen great things: — Brutus and Cassius 
 Are levying powers: 13 we must straight make 
 
 head: 14 
 Therefore let our alliance be combined, 
 Our best friends made, 15 and our best means 
 
 stretctid out; 16 
 And let us presently go sit in council 11 
 How covert 18 matters may be best disclosed, 
 And open perils surest answered 19 
 
 Oct. Let us do so: for we are at the stake, 20 
 And bayed about with 21 many enemies; 
 And some that smile have in their hearts, I 
 
 fear. 
 
 Millions of mischiefs. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 30 
 
 40 
 
 50 
 
 x pack 
 
 2 on 
 
 z a trisyllable 
 
 4 allot 
 
 provisions 
 
 6 wheel 
 
 ^straight 
 
 s bodily 
 
 9 in a way; to 
 some extent 
 
 10 dull 
 
 u i. e., when they 
 have been 
 made com- 
 mon by others 
 and gone out 
 offashion; 
 they begin to 
 be fashion- 
 able with him 
 
 12 tool 
 
 13 forces 
 
 u oppose them 
 
 15 most useful 
 friendships 
 formed. Cf. 
 our phrase 
 ''to make 
 friends " 
 
 16 made the most 
 of 
 
 17 go and sit, etc., 
 i. e., consult 
 
 l8 hidden 
 
 19 most safely 
 combated 
 
 Hied to the stake 
 like bears 
 baited by dogs 
 
 * Graze on the common land; a figurative way of expressing ' 'go back and 
 form one of the multitude." 
 
 t Other readings are: (1) ' 'abject orts" (Theobald's emendation) = thrown 
 away fragments or fag-ends; (2) "abjects, orts" (Staunton's reading) = leav- 
 ings, fragments; in the first case abject is an adjective, in the second a noun. 
 (3) The folio reading was ' 'on objects, Arts, and Imitations," where ' 'objects" 
 would mean ' 'things which catch his eye." Lepidus is a man who does not go 
 into things deeply. 
 
136 
 
 JULIUS CJESAR 
 
 [Act IV 
 
 Scene II. Before Brutus' Tent, in the Camp 
 
 near Sardis. 
 
 Drum. Enter Brutus, Lucilius, Lucius, and 
 Soldiers; Titinius and Pindarus meet them 
 
 Bru. Stand, ho! 
 
 Lucil. Give the word, ho! and stand. 
 
 Bru. What now, Lucilius! is Cassius near? 
 
 Lucil. He is at hand; and Pindarus is come 
 To do you salutation 1 from his master. 2 
 
 Bru. He greets me well. 3 Your master, 
 Pindarus, 
 In his own change, or by ill officers, 4 
 Hath given me some worthy cause 5 to wish 
 Things done, undone; but, if he be at hand, 
 I shall be satisfied. 
 
 Pin. I do not doubt 10 
 
 But that my noble master will appear 
 Such as he is, full of regard and honour. 6 
 
 Bru. He is not doubted. 7 A word, Lucilius: 
 How he received you, let me be resolved* 
 
 Lucil. With courtesy and with respect 
 enough; 
 But not with such familiar instances 9 
 Nor with such free and friendly conference 10 
 As he hath used 11 of old. 
 
 Bru. Thou hast described 
 
 A hot friend cooling: ever note, Lucilius, 
 When love begins to sicken and decay, 20 
 
 It useth an enforced ceremony. 
 There are no tricks in plain and simple faith; 
 But hollow 12 men, like horses hot at hand 13 
 Make gallant show and promise of their 
 
 mettle; 
 But when they should endure the bloody spur, 
 They fall 14 * their crests, and, like deceitful 
 
 jades, 
 Sink in the trial. Comes his army on? 
 
 * For this transitive use of ' 'fall," cf . Othello, Act IV., Scene i 
 If that the earth could teem with woman's tears, 
 Each drop she falls would prove a crocodile. 
 
 Salute you 
 
 2 i. e. Cassius 
 
 Opportunely 
 (not, as some 
 take it, ' ( in a 
 friendly 
 way") 
 
 4 owing to some 
 change in 
 himself, or to 
 the actions of 
 bad officers 
 
 5 good cause 
 
 ^show himself in 
 his true char- 
 acter, full of 
 thoughtful- 
 ness and 
 honor 
 
 7 1 do not mis- 
 trust him 
 
 Hell me 
 
 ^familiar atten- 
 tions 
 
 "talk 
 
 n made use of 
 
 12 insincere 
 
 13 i. e. either 
 when held in 
 hand (curbed 
 in), or when 
 led by hand 
 instead of be- 
 ing mounted 
 
 14 let fall 
 
Scene III] 
 
 JULIUS C^ESAE 
 
 137 
 
 Lucil. They mean this night in Sardis 1 to be 
 quarter'd; 
 The greater part, the horse in general, 2 
 Are come with Cassius. [March within. 
 
 Bru. Hark! he is arrived. 30 
 
 March gently on to meet him. 
 
 Enter Cassius and his Powers. 3 
 Cas. Stand, ho! 
 Bru. Stand, ho! repeat* the word along. 
 
 1 Sold. Stand! 
 
 2 Sold. Stand! 
 
 3 Sold. Stand! 
 
 Cas. Most noble brother, you have done me wrong . 
 Bru. Judge me, you gods! wrong I mine 
 enemies? 
 And, if not so, how should I wrong a brother? 
 Cas. Brutus, this sober form of yours hides 40 
 wrongs; 
 And when you do them — 
 
 Bru. Cassius, be content, 5 
 
 Speak your griefs 6 softly: I do know you well. 
 Before the eyes of both our armies here, 
 Which should perceive nothing but love from us, 
 Let us not wrangle: bid them move away; 
 Then in my tent, Cassius, enlarge your griefs? 
 And I will give you audience. 
 
 Cas. Pindarus, 
 
 Bid our commanders lead their charges* off 
 A little from 9 this ground. 
 Bru. Lucilius, do you the like; and let no 
 man 50 
 
 Come to our tent till we have done our con- 
 ference. 
 Let Lucius and Titinius guard our door. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 Scene III. Within the Tent of Brutus. 
 
 Enter Brutus and Cassius. 
 Cas. That you have wrong'd me, doth appear 
 in this: 
 
 l chief town of 
 
 Lydia 
 Hhe main body 
 
 of the horse 
 
 Soldiers 
 
 l pass, i. e. say 
 it one after 
 another 
 
 ^contain your- 
 self, be calm 
 ^grievances 
 ^enlarge upon 
 {speak freely 
 of) your 
 grievances 
 
 Hroops 
 "away from 
 
138 
 
 JULIUS CJESAR 
 
 [Act IV 
 
 You have condemn'd and noted*- Lucius Pella 
 For taking bribes here of the Sardians; 
 Wherein my letters, praying on his side* 
 Because I knew the man, were slighted off. 3 
 Bru. You wrong'd yourself to write in 
 
 such a case. 
 Cas. In such a time as this it is not meet 
 That every nice* offence should bear his com- 
 ment. 5 
 Bru. Let me tell you, Cassius, you yourself 
 Are much condemn'd to have 6 an itching palm; 
 To sell and mart 7 your offices for gold 
 To undeservers. 
 
 Cas- I an itching palm! 
 
 You know that you are Brutus that speaks 
 
 this, 
 Or, by the gods, this speech were else your 
 last. 
 Bru. The name of Cassius honours* 
 corruption, 
 And chastisement doth therefore hide 
 head. 
 Cas. Chastisement! 
 
 Bru. Remember March, the ides of March 
 remember: 
 Did not great Julius bleed for justice' sake? 
 What villain touch'd his body, that did stab, 
 And not for justice?* What, shall one of us, 
 That struck the foremost man of all this world 
 But for supporting" robbers, shall we now 
 Contaminate our fingers with base bribes, 
 And sell the mighty space of our large honours* 
 For so much trash as may be grasped thus? 12 
 I had rather be a dog, and bay the moon, 
 Than such a Roman. 
 Cas. Brutus, bait 13 not me, 
 
 this 
 his* 
 
 10 
 
 20 
 
 1 openly dis- 
 graced 
 
 2 behalf 
 
 Hreated with 
 contemptuous 
 neglect 
 
 Hrivial 
 
 5 be commented 
 
 upon (his = 
 
 its) 
 6 for having 
 7 for selling and 
 
 trafficking 
 
 ^renders 
 honorable 
 (this is sar- 
 castic) 
 
 Hts 
 
 10 for aught but 
 justice' sake 
 
 n simply for 
 counte- 
 nancing 
 
 12 i. e. for a 
 handful of 
 paltry gold 
 
 13 others read 
 "bay" 
 
 I. e. the vast empire of our great honor, which is contrasted in the 
 next hne with a mere handful of dross Honors is plural, as abstract words 
 otten are m bhakespeare, when applied to more than one person at the same 
 time. 
 
Scene III] 
 
 JULIUS CJESAR 
 
 139 
 
 I'll not endure it : you forget yourself, 
 
 To hedge me in; 1 I am a soldier, I, 30 
 
 Older in practice, abler than yourself 
 
 To make conditions? 
 
 Bru. Go to; 3 you are not, Cassius. 
 
 Cas. I am. 
 
 Bru. I say you are not. 
 
 Cas. Urge me no more, I shall forget myself; 
 Have mind upon your health, 4 tempt me no 
 farther. 
 
 Bru. Away, slight 5 man! 
 
 Cas. Is't possible? 
 
 Bru. Hear me, for I will speak. 
 
 Must I give way and room to your rash choler? 6 
 Shall I be frighted 7 when a madman stares? 40 
 
 Cas. O ye gods, ye gods! Must I endure 
 all this? 
 
 Bru. All this? ay, more: fret, till your 
 proud heart break; 
 Go show your slaves how choleric you are, 
 And make your bondmen tremble. Must I 
 
 budge?* 
 Must I observe 9 you? Must I stand and 
 
 crouch 
 Under your testy humour? 10 By the gods, 
 You shall digest the venom of your spleen, 11 
 Though it do split 12 you; for, from this day 
 
 forth, 
 I'll use you for my mirth, yea, for my laughter, 
 When you are waspish. 13 
 
 Cas. Is it come to this? 50 
 
 Bru. You say, you are a better soldier : u 
 Let it appear so; 15 make your vaunting true, 
 And it sfyall please me well : for mine own part, 
 I shall be glad to learn of noble men. 
 
 Cas. You wrong me every way; you wrong 
 me, Brutus; 
 I said, an elder soldier, not a better: 
 Did I say, better? 
 
 Bru. If you did, I care not. 
 
 Hn putting re- 
 straint upon 
 me 
 
 2 i. e. with the 
 people on 
 whom offices 
 are to be be- 
 stowed 
 
 s enough 
 
 4 a care for your 
 own safety 
 
 Hnsignificant 
 
 "anger 
 "^affrighted 
 
 °give way 
 
 9 pay court to, 
 look up to 
 
 10 cower before 
 your peevish- 
 ness 
 
 n your venomous 
 malice 
 
 12 burst 
 
 ^malignant 
 
 u a trisyllable 
 l5 be proved 
 
140 
 
 JULIUS CAESAR 
 
 [Act IV 
 
 Cas. When Caesar lived, he durst not thus 
 have moved 1 me. 
 
 Bru. Peace, peace! you durst not so have 
 tempted 2 him. 
 
 Cas. I durst not? 60 
 
 Bru. No. 
 
 Cas. What, durst not tempt 3 him? 
 
 Bru. For your life you durst not. 
 
 Cas. Do not presume too much upon my love ; 
 I may do that I shall be sorry for. 
 
 Bru. You have done that you should be 
 sorry for. 
 There is no terror, Cassius, in your threats; 
 For I am arm'd so strong in honesty 4 
 That they pass by me as the idle wind, 
 Which I respect 5 not. I did send to you 
 For certain sums of gold, which you denied me : 70 
 For I can raise no money by vile means: 
 By heaven, I had rather coin my heart* 
 And drop my blood for drachmas, than to wring 
 From the hard 7 hands of peasants their vile trash 8 
 By any indirection: 9 I did send 
 To you for gold to pay my legions, 
 Which you denied me: was that done like 
 
 Cassius? 
 Should I have answer'd Caius Cassius so? 
 When Marcus Brutus grows so covetous, 
 To lock such rascal counters 10 from his friends, 80 
 Be ready, gods, with ail your thunderbolts; 
 Dash him to pieces! 
 
 Cas. I denied you not. 
 
 Bru. You did. 
 
 Cas. I did not: he was but a fool 
 That brought 11 my answer back. Brutus hath 
 
 rived 12 my heart : 
 A friend should bear his friend's infirmities. 13 
 But Brutus makes mine greater than they are. 
 Bru. I do not, till you practice them on me.* 
 
 housed 
 
 2 provoked. Cf. 
 our modern 
 phrase 
 
 "Don't tempt 
 me too far," 
 in the same 
 sense 
 
 3 provoke 
 
 4 honor 
 
 5 heed 
 
 6 give my heart 
 to be made 
 into money 
 
 7 i. e. hard with 
 working. We 
 still talk of 
 the * 'horny- 
 handed sons 
 of toil" 
 
 s paltry coppers 
 
 * crooked con- 
 duct, dishon- 
 orable 
 
 means. In- 
 direct is not 
 straight, i. e. 
 not straight- 
 forward, 
 hence 
 
 "crooked 11 in 
 a bad sense 
 
 10 worthless coins 
 "Counters' 1 
 were of prac- 
 tically no in- 
 trinsic value 
 
 ll took 
 
 12 riven 
 
 13 weaknesses 
 
 * I. e. jiot "I do not make them greater till," etc., but "I do not fail to 
 bear them except when you bring them out in your dealings with me." 
 
Scene III] 
 
 JULIUS CJESAE 
 
 141 
 
 Cas. You love me not. 
 
 Bru. I do not like your faults. 
 
 Cas. A friendly eye could never see such 
 faults. 
 
 Bru. A flatterer's would not, though they 
 do appear 1 90 
 
 As huge as high Olympus. 
 
 Cas. Come, Antony, and young Octavius, 
 come, 
 Revenge yourselves alone on Cassius, 2 
 For Cassius is aweary* of the world; 
 Hated by one he loves; braved by his brother; 
 Check' d* like a bondman; all his faults ob- 
 served, 
 Set in a note-book, learn'd, and conn'd by rote, 5 
 To cast into my teeth. O, I could weep 
 My spirit from mine eyes! There is my dagger, 
 And here my naked breast; within, a heart 100 
 Dearer 6 than Plutus' 7 mine, richer than gold: 
 If that thou* be'st a Roman, take it forth; 
 I, that denied thee* gold, will give my heart: 
 Strike, as thou* didst at Caesar; for, I know, 
 When thou* didst hate him worst, thou* 
 
 lovedst him better 
 Than ever thou* lovedst Cassius. 
 
 Bru. Sheathe your dagger: 
 
 Be angry when you will, it shall have scope; 8 
 Do what you will, dishonour shall be humour. 9 
 O Cassius, you are yoked with a lamb 
 That carries anger as the flint bears fire,f 110 
 Who, 10 much enforced, 11 shows a hasty spark, 
 And straight 12 is cold again. 
 
 Cas. Hath Cassius lived 
 
 To be but mirth and laughter to his Brutus, 
 When grief and blood ill-temper'd vexeth him? 
 
 hhould actually 
 appear. An 
 emphatic sub- 
 junctive, not 
 a statement of 
 fact 
 
 2 on Cassius 
 alone 
 
 3 right weary 
 ("a" is in- 
 tensive) 
 
 *held in check, 
 
 Hearnt by 
 heart 
 
 s more precious 
 7 the god of 
 riches 
 
 s your anger 
 shall have full 
 play 
 
 9 7 will regard 
 your dis- 
 honorable 
 conduct as a 
 mere caprice 
 
 10 which 
 
 n struck hard 
 
 n straightway 
 
 * It is worth remark that Cassius in this speech uses the second person 
 singular in speaking to Brutus, whereas Brutus all along uses the plural, as 
 does Cassius in the rest of the dialogue. It is probably an intentional indica- 
 tion of Cassius' extreme emotion for the moment. 
 
 t /. e. that has anger burning in its breast, but displays it in mere momen- 
 tary flashes, and that only when forced to it. 
 
142 
 
 JULIUS CiESAR 
 
 [Act IV 
 
 Bru. When I spoke that, I was ill-temper' d 
 
 too. 
 Cas. Do you confess so much? Give me 
 
 your hand. 
 Bru. And my heart too. 
 Cas. O Brutus! 
 
 Bru. What's the matter? 
 
 Cas. Have not you love enough to bear 
 with me, 
 When that rash humour 1 which my mother 
 
 gave me 
 Makes me forgetful? 120 
 
 Bru. Yes, Cassius, and, from henceforth, 
 When you are over-earnest 2 with your Brutus, 
 He'll think your mother chides, 3 and leave 
 you so. 
 
 [Noise within. 
 Poet.* [Within] Let me go in to see the 
 generals ; 
 There is some grudge 5 between 'em; 'tis not 
 
 meet 
 They be alone. 
 
 Lucil. [Within] You shall not come to them. 
 Poet. [Within] Nothing but death shall stay 6 
 me. 
 Enter Poet, followed by Lucilius, Titinius, and 
 Lucius. 
 Cas. How now! What's the matter? 
 Poet. For shame, you generals! What do you 
 mean? 130 
 
 Love, and be friends, as two such men should 
 
 be; 
 For I have seen more years, I'm sure, than 
 ye.* 
 Cas. Ha, ha! how vilely doth this cynic 7 
 rhyme! 
 
 * The verses are a translation of lines uttered by Nestor in the Iliad, and in 
 North's Plutarch run as follows: — 
 
 "My lords, I pray you hearken both to me, 
 For I have seen mo years than suchie three." 
 
 Skeat's Plutarch, p. 134. 
 
 Hemperament 
 
 2 use too hard 
 words 
 
 Hhat it is your 
 mother who 
 is scolding 
 
 Hn Plutarch it 
 is Marcus 
 Phaonius, a 
 crazy philoso- 
 pher, and not 
 a poet, who 
 makes his 
 way into the 
 tent 
 
 Hll-feeling 
 
 ' rude fellow. 
 The cynics 
 were very out- 
 spoken phil- 
 osophers^ 
 
Scene III] 
 
 JULIUS C^ESAB 
 
 143 
 
 Bru. Get you hence, sirrah; saucy fellow, 
 
 hence! 
 Cas. Bear with him, Brutus; 'tis his fashion. 1 
 Bru. I'll know his humour, when he knows 
 his time:* 
 What should the wars do with these jigging 
 
 fools?*— 
 Companion,* hence! 
 Cas. Away, away, be gone! 
 
 [Exit Poet. 
 Bru. Lucilius and Titinius, bid the com- 
 manders 
 Prepare to lodge their companies to-night. 140 
 Cas. And come yourselves, and bring 
 Messala with you, 
 Immediately to us. 
 
 [Exeunt Lucilius and Titinius. 
 Bru. Lucius, a bowl of wine! 
 
 [Exit Lucius. 
 Cas. I did not think you could have been 
 
 so angry. 
 Bru. O Cassius, I am sick of many griefs. 4 ' 
 Cas. Of your philosophy you make no use, 
 If you give place to accidental evils. 5 
 Bru. No man bears sorrow better. Portia is 
 
 dead. 
 Cas. Ha! Portia? 
 Bru. She is dead. 
 
 Cas. How 'scaped I killing 6 when I cross'd 
 you so? — 150 
 
 O insupportable and touching loss! — 
 Upon 7 what sickness? 
 
 Bru. Impatient of 8 my absence, 
 
 And grief, that young Octavius with Mark 
 
 Antony 
 Have made themselves so strong; — for with 9 
 
 her death 
 That tidings came: with this she fell distract, 10 
 
 x way: a trisyl- 
 lable here 
 
 ^rhyming fools, 
 or silly poets 
 3 you fellow! 
 
 4 with many 
 
 sorrows 
 6 give way to 
 
 chance evils 
 
 *being killed 
 
 7 from 
 B from im- 
 patience at 
 
 9 just before 
 10 distracted 
 
 * I'll pay regard to his humor when he pays regard to the seasonableness of 
 his visits. 
 
144 
 
 JULIUS CAESAR 
 
 [Act IV 
 
 And, her attendants absent, swallowed fire. 
 
 Cas. And died so? 
 
 Bru. Even so. 
 
 Cas. O ye immortal gods! 
 
 Re-enter Lucius with wine and tapers. 
 
 Bru. Speak no more of her. — Give me a 
 bowl of wine. 
 In this I bury all unkindness, Cassius. [Drinks. 
 
 Cas. My heart is thirsty for that noble 
 pledge. 160 
 
 Fill, Lucius, till the wine o'erswell the cup; 
 I cannot drink too much of Brutus' love. 
 
 [Drinks. 
 
 Bru. Come in, Titinius! [Exit Lucius. 
 
 Re-enter Titinius, with Messala. 
 Welcome, good Messala. 
 Now sit we close about this taper here, 
 And call in question our necessities. 1 
 
 Cas. Portia, art thou gone? 
 
 Bru. No more, I pray you. 
 
 Messala, I have here received letters, 
 That young Octavius and Mark Antony 
 Come down upon us with a mighty power, 2 
 Bending their expedition 3 toward Philippi. 170 
 
 Mes. Myself have letters of the self-same 
 tenour. 
 
 Bru. With what addition? 
 
 Mes. That by proscription and bills of out- 
 lawry,* 
 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. Cicero is dead, 
 
 And by that order of proscription. 180 
 
 Had you your letters from your wife, my lord? 
 
 Bru. No, Messala. 
 
 Mes. Nor nothing 5 in your letters writ 6 of her? 
 
 l go into the 
 question of 
 what is to be 
 done 
 
 *force 
 z marching 
 
 placards adver- 
 tising certain 
 persons as 
 outlaws 
 
 . 
 
 ^anything 
 ^written 
 
Scene III] 
 
 JULIUS OffiSAR 
 
 145 
 
 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. 1 
 Bru. Why, 2 farewell, Portia. We must die, 
 Messala: 190 
 
 With meditating that she must die once, 3 
 I have the patience to endure it now. 
 Mes. Even so great men great losses should 
 
 endure. 
 Cas. I have as much of this in art 4 * as you, 
 But yet my nature could not bear it so. 
 Bru. Well, to our work alive. 5 What do you 
 think 
 Of marching to Philippi presently? 
 Cas. I do not think it good. 
 Bru. Your reason? 
 
 Cas. This it is: 
 
 J Tis better that the enemy seek us: 
 So shall he waste his means, weary his soldiers, 200 
 Doing himself offence; 6 whilst we, lying still, 
 Are full of rest, defence, and nimbleness. 
 Bru. Good reasons must, of force, 7 give place 8 
 to better. 
 The people 'twixt Philippi and this ground 
 Do stand but in a forced affection; 9 
 For they have grudged us contribution: 
 The enemy, marching along by them, 10 
 By them shall make a fuller number up, 11 
 Come on refresh'd, new-added, 12 and encouraged : 
 From which advantage shall we cut him off, 210 
 
 x and met her 
 death in a 
 strange 
 manner 
 
 2 well (in a tone 
 of resigna- 
 tion) 
 
 *at some time or 
 other 
 
 Hn my phil- 
 osophy 
 
 Ho our business 
 with the liv- 
 ing; 
 
 no more of 
 the dead! 
 
 *harm 
 ^perforce 
 
 9 only appear to 
 like us be- 
 cause they are 
 forced to 
 
 ^through their 
 
 district 
 n be reinforced 
 12 with increased 
 
 numbers 
 
 * Cassius' philosophy — he was a Stoic by conviction — like Brutus', would 
 bid him bear a great grief like Brutus does; but he feels that his nature would 
 not allow him to bear it so well. (See Characters of the Play, p. 39.) 
 
146 
 
 JULIUS CJESAR 
 
 [Act IV 
 
 If at Philippi we do face him there, 
 These people at our back. 
 
 Cas. Hear me, good brother. 
 
 Bru. Under your pardon. 1 You must note 
 beside, 
 That we have tried the utmost of our friends,* 
 Our legions are brim-full, our cause is ripe: 
 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 fortune; 220 
 Omitted, 3 all the voyage of their life 
 Is bound in shallows and in miseries. f 
 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, 5 go on; 
 
 We'll along ourselves, and meet them at 
 Philippi. 
 
 Bru. The deep 6 of night is 7 crept upon our 
 talk, 
 And nature must obey necessity; 
 Which we will niggard* with a little rest. 
 There is no more to say? 
 
 Cas. No more. Good night: 230 
 
 Early to-morrow will we rise and hence. 
 
 Bru. Lucius! [Re-enter Lucius] — My gown. 9 
 [Exit Lucius.] Farewell, 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. Everything is well. 
 
 Cas. Good night, my lord. 
 
 1 with your good 
 permission, I 
 have some' 
 thing more to 
 say 
 
 2 got all the help 
 we can from 
 our friends 
 
 Hf not taken 
 advantage of 
 
 hohat we have 
 risked, i. e., 
 the cargo or 
 merchandise; 
 cf. our 
 phrase "The 
 Company of 
 Merchant 
 Venturers" 
 
 6 as you wish 
 
 Hepth 
 
 ''has 
 
 8 stint 
 
 ^dressing gown 
 
 * I.e. our numbers have reached the highest point they can, and so any 
 change in them must be by way of decrease. 
 
 t I.e. they journey through life buffeted by miseries, as a boat is 
 buffeted by the choppy waves of shallow waters. 
 
Scene III] 
 
 JULIUS C^ESAE 
 
 147 
 
 Bru. Good night, good brother. 
 
 Tit. and Mes. Good night, Lord Brutus. 
 Bru. Farewell, every one. 
 
 [Exeunt Cassius, Titintius, and Messala. 
 Re-enter Lucius, with the gown. 
 Give me the gown. Where is thy instrument? 240 
 Luc. Here in the tent. 
 Bru. What, thou speak'st drowsily? 
 
 Poor knave, 1 I blame thee not; thou art o'er- 
 
 watch' d* 
 Call Claudius, and some other 3 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, 5 we will stand and watch 
 
 your pleasure. 250 
 
 Bru. I will not have it so: lie down, good 
 sirs; 
 It may be I shall otherwise bethink me. 6 
 Look, Lucius, here's the book I sought for so; 
 I put it in the pocket of my gown. 
 
 [Varro and Claudius lie down. 
 Luc. I was sure your lordship did not give it 
 
 me. 
 Bru. Bear with me, 7 good boy, I am much 9 
 forgetful. 
 Canst thou hold up thy heavy eyes awhile, 
 And touch thy instrument a strain or two? 
 Luc. Ay, my lord, an'P please you. 
 Bru. It does, my boy: 
 
 I trouble thee too much, but thou art willing. 260 
 Luc. It is my duty, sir. 
 Bru. I should not 10 urge thy duty past thy 
 might; 
 I know young bloods 11 look for a time of rest. 
 
 Had 
 
 Hired out with 
 
 watching 
 s others 
 
 house 
 
 6 if it so please 
 you 
 
 ^change my 
 mind 
 
 7 don't mind 
 
 what I say 
 8 very 
 
 Hf it 
 
 10 I ought not to 
 
 n people. Cf. I. 
 ii. 151 
 
148 
 
 JULIUS CAESAR 
 
 [Act IV 
 
 Luc. I have slept, my lord, already. 
 Bru. It was well done; and thou shalt sleep 
 again: 
 I will not hold 1 thee long: if I do live, 
 I will be good to thee. 
 
 [Music, and a Song. 
 This is a sleepy tune: O murderous slumber, 
 Lay'st thou thy leaden mace upon my boy, 
 That plays thee music?* Gentle knave, 2 good 
 
 > night; 
 I will not do thee so much wrong to z 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 5 reading? Here it is, I think. 
 
 [He sits down. 
 Enter the Ghost of Cesak. 
 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 anything? 
 Art thou some god, some angel, or some devil, 
 That makest my blood cold, and my hair to 
 
 stare? 6 
 Speak to 7 me, what thou art. 
 Ghost. Thy evil spirit, Brutus. 
 Bru. Why comest thou? 
 
 Ghost. To tell thee thou shalt see me at 
 
 Philippi. 
 Bru. Well; then I shall see thee again? 
 Ghost. Ay, at Philippi. 
 Bru. Why, 8 1 will see thee at Philippi, then. 
 
 [Ghost vanishes. 
 Now I have taken heart thou vanishest: 
 111 spirit, I would hold more talk with thee. 
 
 270 
 
 280 
 
 Had 
 
 3 as to 
 4 art sure to 
 break 
 
 Heft off 
 
 6 stand on end 
 Hell 
 
 ^very well 
 
 *The idea is that Sleep — whose mace or emblem of authority is ap- 
 propriately of lead — is about to take Lucius into custody, and is touch- 
 ing him with the mace as a sign of arrest. In other words, Lucius is falling 
 asleep. 
 
Scene III] 
 
 JULIUS CAESAR 
 
 149 
 
 Boy, Lucius! Varro! Claudius! Sirs, awake! 290 
 Claudius! 
 
 Luc. The strings, my lord, are false. 1 
 
 Bru. He thinks he still is at his instrument. 
 Lucius, awake! 
 
 Luc. My lord? 
 
 Bru. Didst thou dream, Lucius, that thou so 
 criedst out? 
 
 Luc. My lord, I do not know that I did cry. 
 
 Bru. Yes, that thou didst: didst thou see 
 anything? 
 
 Luc. Nothing, my lord. 
 
 Bru. Sleep again, Lucius. Sirrah, Claudius! 300 
 [To Varro.] Fellow thou, awake! 
 
 Var. My lord? 
 
 Clau. My lord? 
 
 Bru. Why did you so cry out, sirs, in your 
 sleep? 
 
 Var. and Clau. Did we, my lord? 
 
 Bru. Ay, saw you anything? 
 
 Var. No, my lord, I saw nothing. 
 
 Clau. Nor I, my lord. 
 
 Bru. Go, and commend me to my brother 
 Cassius; 
 Bid him set on his powers betimes 2 before, 
 And we will follow. 
 
 Var. and Clau. It shall be done, my lord. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 l out of tune 
 
 2 march his 
 forces early 
 
150 
 
 JULIUS CiESAK 
 
 [Act V 
 
 ACT V. 
 
 Scene I. The Plains of Philippi, 
 
 Enter Octavius, Antony, and their Army. 
 Oct. Now, Antony, our hopes are answered: 1 
 You said the enemy would not come down, 
 But keep the hills and upper regions; 
 It proves not so: their battles 2 are at hand; 
 They mean to warn 3 us at Philippi here, 
 Answering before we do demand of them.* 
 
 Ant. Tut, 3 1 am in their bosoms, 4 and I know 
 Wherefore they do it: they could be content 5 
 To visit other places; and come down 
 With fearful bravery, 6 thinking by this face 7 10 
 To fasten in our thoughts 8 that they have 
 
 courage; 
 But 'tis not so. 
 
 Enter a Messenger. 
 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 11 on 
 Upon the left hand of the even 12 field. 
 
 Oct. Upon the right hand I; keep thou the 
 
 left. 
 Ant. Why do you cross me in this exigent? 1 *] 
 Oct. I do not cross you; but I will do so 1 * 20 
 
 [March. 
 Drum. Enter Brutus, Cassitjs, and their Army; 
 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? 
 
 Carried out 
 
 2 forces, 
 battalions 
 
 ^summon 
 
 ^nonsense! 
 
 4 know their 
 secrets 
 
 *would be glad. 
 Cf. French 
 content = 
 pleased, glad 
 
 ^formidable 
 show of 
 valor 
 
 7 shov) of valor 
 
 s to convince us 
 
 9 scarlet ensign 
 or banner. 
 Plutarch (Ed. 
 Skeat, 139) 
 says the sig- 
 nal of battle 
 was "an 
 arming 
 scarlet coat 1 * 
 
 10 division 
 
 n slowly 
 
 12 flat, level 
 
 xZ exigency, 
 crisis 
 
 x Hn Plutarch 
 Octavius is 
 on the left. 
 
 (See Historical 
 Introduction 
 
 v-47.) 
 
 * I. e. answering our question before we ask it — a figurative way of saying 
 "defending themselves against us before being attacked by us." 
 
 tFor "exigent" as a noun, cf. Holland's Livy, p. 120: "Pittying the un- 
 happy and unfortunate beautie of the damsell: and bewailing the hard 
 exigent and extremitie of the father." So, also, several times in Shakespeare, 
 
Scene I] 
 
 JULIUS C^SAB 
 
 151 
 
 Ant. No, Caesar, we will answer on their 
 charge. 1 
 Make forth; 2 the generals would have some 
 words. 
 Oct. Stir not until the signal. 
 Bru. Words before blows: is it so, country- 
 men? 
 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: 30 
 
 Witness the hole you made in Caesar's heart, 
 Crying, "Long live! hail, Caesar!" 
 
 Cas. Antony, 
 
 The posture 3 of your blows are 4 yet unknown; 
 But for your words, they rob the Hybla 5 bees, 
 And leave them honeyless. 
 Ant. Not stingless too. 
 
 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 Caesar :f 40 
 You showed your teeth like apes, 5 and fawn'd like 
 
 hounds, 
 And bow'd like bondmen, kissing Caesar's feet; 
 Whilst damned Casca, like a cur, behind, 
 Struck Caesar on the neck. O, you flatterers! 
 
 Cas. Flatterers! — Now, Brutus, thank yourself: 
 This tongue had not offended so to-day, 
 If Cassius might have ruled, t 
 
 l will wait till 
 they charge (a 
 natural ex- 
 pression: an 
 answer im- 
 plies a pre- 
 vious ques- 
 tion. Antony 
 says they will 
 act on the de- 
 fensive, which 
 implies simi- 
 larly a pre- 
 vious attack) 
 
 2 forward! 
 
 direction 
 
 Hs 
 
 5 a town in 
 Sicily, the 
 neighbor- 
 hood of which 
 was celebrated 
 for honey 
 
 6 i. e., grinned 
 
 * I. e. they are sweeter than the honey of the bees of Hybla. Antony re- 
 plies: "Yes, but they have no sting like the bees." Brutus replies: "Yes, 
 they have both more sting and make more noise than the bees." 
 
 t I. e. so many of them struck at Caesar that their daggers knocked against 
 one another in Caesar's body. 
 
 t He would not have used such offensive language if I had had my way. In 
 II. i. 161 Cassius urges that Antony should be put to death: ' 'Let Antony and 
 Caesar fall together," 
 
152 
 
 JULIUS CJESAR 
 
 [Act V 
 
 Oct. Come, come, the cause: 1 if arguing make 
 us sweat, 
 The proof 2 of it will turn to redder drops. 
 Look; 50 
 
 I draw a sword against conspirators; 
 When think you that the sword goes up 3 again? 
 Never, till Caesar's three and thirty* wounds 
 Be well avenged, or till another Caesar 
 Have added slaughter to 5 the sword of traitors. 
 
 Bru. Caesar, thou canst not die by traitors' 
 hands, 
 Unless thou bring'st them with thee. 
 
 Oct. So I hope; 
 
 I was not born to die on 6 Brutus' sword. 
 
 Bru. O, if thou wert the noblest of thy 
 strain, 7 
 Young man, thou couldst not die more honour- 
 able. 9 60 
 
 Cas. A peevish 9 school-boy, worthless of such 
 honour, 
 Joined with a masker and a reveller] 10 
 
 Ant. Old Cassius still! 11 
 
 Oct. Come, Antony, away! 
 
 Defiance, traitors, hurl we in your teeth: 
 If you dare fight to-day, come to the field; 
 If not, when you have stomachs. 12 
 [Exeunt Octavius, Antony, and their Army. 
 
 Cas. Why, now, blow wind, swell billow, and 
 swim bark! 13 
 The storm is up, and all is on the hazard. u 
 
 Bru. Ho, Lucilius! hark, a word with you. 
 
 Lucil. [Standing forth] My lord? 70 
 
 [Brutus and Lucilius talk apart. 
 
 Cas. Messala! 
 
 Mes. [Standing forth] What says my general? 
 
 Cas. Messala, 
 
 This is my birthday; as 15 this very day 
 Was Cassius born. Give me thy hand, 
 
 Messala: 
 Be thou my witness that against my will, 
 
 Ho the matter 
 before us 
 
 2 i. e., the de- 
 cision by 
 arms 
 
 Hnto its sheath. 
 We still say 
 "Put up thy 
 sword" 
 
 ^Plutarch, 
 Appian, and 
 Suetonius all 
 say he had 
 twenty-three 
 wounds 
 
 5 furnish an- 
 other victim 
 for 
 
 6 by 
 
 ''race 
 
 ^honorably 
 
 ^wayward 
 
 10 i. e. Antony 
 
 11 the same 
 spiteful- 
 tongued Cas- 
 sius as of old! 
 
 12 feel inclined 
 
 13 i. e., away 
 with peace, 
 let the worst 
 come! 
 
 u must be left to 
 fortune 
 
 *on 
 
Scene I] 
 
 JULIUS C^ESAK 
 
 153 
 
 As Pompey was, 1 am I compell'd to set 
 
 Upon one battle all our liberties. 
 
 You know that I held Epicurus strong, 2 
 
 And his opinion: now, I change my mind, 
 
 And partly credit things that do presage. 3 
 
 Coming from Sardis, on our former* ensign 80 
 
 Two mighty eagles fell; and there they 
 
 perch'd 
 Gorging and feeding from our soldiers' hands; 
 Who to Philippi here consorted 5 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 7 we were sickly prey: their shadows seem 
 A canopy most fatal, under which 
 Our army lies, ready to give up the ghost. 
 
 Mes. Believe not so. 
 
 Cas. I but believe it partly; 9 90 
 
 For I am fresh of spirit and resolved 
 To meet all perils very constantly. 9 — 
 
 Bru. Even so, Lucilius. — 
 
 Cas. Now, most noble Brutus, 
 
 The gods to-day stand 10 friendly, that we may, 
 Lovers 11 in peace, lead on our days to age! 
 But since the affairs of men rest still incertain, 12 
 Let's reason with 13 the worst that may befall: 
 If we do lose this battle, then is this 
 The very last time we shall speak together: 
 What are you then determined 14 to do? 100 
 
 Bru. Even by 15 the rule of that philosophy* 
 By which I did blame Cato for the death 
 Which he did give himself, I know not how, 
 But I do find it cowardly and vile, 
 For fear of what might fall, 15 so to prevent 17 
 The time of life: 18 arming myself with patience 
 
 *i. e., at the bat- 
 tle of Phar- 
 salia 
 
 2 wasafirm 
 believer in 
 Epicurus. 
 (Epicurus 
 did not be- 
 lieve in signs 
 and omens) 
 
 z foretell the 
 future 
 
 ^foremost, front 
 
 Accompanied 
 
 6 place 
 
 7 as if 
 
 8 believe it but 
 partly 
 
 9 firmly, reso- 
 lutely 
 
 10 in an optative 
 sense, i. e., 
 may the gods 
 show them- 
 selves 
 friendly 
 
 n friends 
 
 12 uncertain 
 
 l3 discuss 
 
 u a quadrisyl- 
 lable 
 15 following 
 
 u befall 
 ^anticipate 
 18 the full period 
 of life 
 
 * I. e. the Stoic philosophy, which counselled resignation to the will of the 
 gods, and therefore would not allow a man to anticipate his natural death by- 
 suicide. But Brutus soon changes his mind. Plutarch makes his conduct 
 more natural. He says that Brutus when ' 'but a young man, and not over greatly 
 experiencedin the world," trusted this doctrine. 
 
154 
 
 JULIUS CAESAR 
 
 [Act V 
 
 To stay 1 the providence of some high powers 
 That govern us below. 
 
 Cas. Then, if we lose this battle, 
 
 You are contented to be led in triumph 
 Thorough* the streets of Rome? 110 
 
 Bru. No, Cassius, no: think not, thou 
 noble Roman, 
 That ever Brutus will go bound to Rome; 
 He bears too great a mind. But this same day 
 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 ! 120 
 If we do^meet again, we'll smile indeed; 
 If not, 'tis true this parting was well made. 
 
 Bru. Why then, lead on. — 0, 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. Plains of Philippi. The field of battle 
 
 Alarum. Enter Brutus and Messala. 
 
 Bru. Ride, ride, Messala, ride and give these bills 5 
 Unto the legions on the other side. 6 
 
 [Loud alarum. 
 Let them set on 7 at once; for I perceive 
 But cold demeanour in Octavius' wing, 
 And sudden push gives them the overthrow. 8 
 Ride, ride, Messala: let them all come down. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 Scene III. 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: 
 
 1 (I am deter- 
 mined) to 
 await 
 
 Hhrough 
 
 3 eitherfor be- 
 gan, or 
 which was 
 begun on the 
 ides of March 
 
 Hs satisfactory 
 
 ^instructions. 
 
 The word 
 
 "bills" is 
 
 taken from 
 
 North's 
 
 Plutarch 
 6 wing 
 7 attack 
 8 a sudden onset 
 
 will instantly 
 
 overthrow 
 
 them 
 
Scene III] 
 
 JULIUS CiESAE 
 
 155 
 
 This ensign* here of mine was turning back; 
 I slew the coward, 1 and did take it from him. 
 
 Tit. Cassius, Brutus gave the word too 
 early; 
 Who, having some advantage on 2 Octavius, 
 Took it too eagerly: his soldiers fell to spoil, 
 Whilst we by Antony are all enclosed. 3 
 Enter Pindakus. 
 
 Pin. Fly further off, my lord, fly further off; 
 Mark Antony is in your tents, my lord: 
 Fly, therefore, noble Cassius, fly far off.f 
 
 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 lovest me, 
 
 Mount thou my horse and hide 4 ' thy spurs in 
 
 him, 
 Till he have brought thee up to yonder troops 
 And here 5 again; that I may rest assured, 
 Whether yond* troops are friend or enemy. 
 
 Tit. I will be here again, even with a thought. 7 
 
 [Exit. 
 
 Cas. Go, Pindarus, get higher on that hill; 
 My sight was ever thick; 8 regard 9 Titinius, 
 And tell me what thou notest about the field. 
 [Pindarus ascends the hill. 
 This day I breathed first: time is come round, 10 
 And where I did begin, there shall I end: 
 My life is run his compass. 11 Sirrah, what news! 
 
 Pin. [Above] O my lord! 
 
 Cas. What news? 
 
 10 
 
 20 
 
 'AC., who bore it 
 
 Hurrounded 
 
 *bury, dig 
 
 5 back 
 6 yonder 
 7 as quick as 
 thought 
 
 8 bad 
 *watch. Cf. 
 
 French re- 
 
 garder = to 
 
 look at 
 10 the circle is 
 
 completed 
 n its course 
 
 *It is not necessary to take this as meaning "standard-bearer"; it is 
 simply the standard, as is shown by the "this," and by the "it" in the next 
 line. As the standard bearer "turned back" the standard would of course 
 do so at the same time. The meaning in either case is obvious. 
 
 t The Clarendon Press editor suggests that ' 'far" may be ' 'the comparative 
 and equivalent to 'further/ just above." But Pindarus would seem rather 
 to mean that Cassius is not only to fly "further off" from Antony than he is 
 at present, but that it would be better to. . ., fly "far" i. e., a long way: "further 
 off" is only a comparative distance; "far" is an absolute long distance. 
 
156 
 
 JULIUS CAESAR 
 
 [Act V 
 
 Pin. [Above] Titinius is enclosed 1 round about 
 With horsemen, that make to him on the spur; 2 
 Yet he spurs on. Now they are almost on 
 
 him. 30 
 
 Now, Titinius! Now some light. 3 O, he lights* 
 
 too. 
 He's ta'en. [Shout] And, hark! they shout 
 for joy. 
 Cas. Come down, behold no more. 
 O, coward that I am, to live so long, 
 To see my best friend ta'en before my face! 
 
 [Pindarus descends. 
 Come hither, sirrah: 
 In Parthia did I take thee prisoner; 
 And then I swore thee, 5 saving of thy life, 6 
 That whatsoever I did bid thee do, 
 Thou shouldst attempt it. Come now, keep 
 
 thine oath; 40 
 
 Now be a freeman: and with this good sword, 
 That ran through Caesar's bowels, search 7 this 
 
 bosom,* 
 Stand not to answer: here, take thou the hilts; 8 
 And, when my face is cover' d, as 'tis now, 
 Guide thou the sword. [Pindarus stabs him] 
 
 Caesar, thou art revenged, 
 Even with 9 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. 50 
 
 [Exit. 
 Re-enter Titinius, with Messala. 
 Mes. It is but change, 10 Titinius; for 
 Octavius 
 Is overthrown by noble Brutus' power, 11 
 As Cassius' legions are by Antony. 
 
 Tit. These tidings will well comfort Cassius. 
 
 x a trisyllable 
 ^spurring their 
 
 horses 
 
 z alight 
 A alights 
 
 5 made thee 
 
 swear 
 6 when I spared 
 
 thy life 
 
 7 pierce 
 8 hilt 
 
 *by means of 
 
 mt-for-tat; 
 defeat here, 
 victory there. 
 "Change" 
 has perhaps 
 the double 
 meaning of 
 1 'exchange," 
 and "vicissi- 
 tude" 
 
 n forces 
 
 * Plutarch says: "But then, casting his cloak over his head, and holding 
 out his bare neck unto Pindarus, he gave him his head to be stricken off." 
 
Scene III] 
 
 JULIUS CJESAK 
 
 157 
 
 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, 60 
 
 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; 
 Clouds, dews, and dangers come; our deeds 
 
 are done! 
 Mistrust of my success 1 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 2 thoughts of 
 
 men 
 The things that are not? error, soon con- 
 ceived, 
 Thou never comest unto a happy birth, 70 
 
 But kill'st the mother that engender'd thee!* 
 Tit. What, 3 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. Hie 5 you, Messala, 
 
 And I will seek for Pindarus the while. 
 
 [Exit Messala. 
 Why didst thou send me forth, brave Cassius? 80 
 Did I not meet thy friends? and did not they 
 
 *as to the result 
 of my mis- 
 sion. "Suc- 
 cess " was 
 formerly a 
 neutral word, 
 simply mean- 
 ing ' 'issue 1 ' 
 or a "result" 
 whether good 
 or bad.Hence, 
 in the next 
 line the ad- 
 dition of the 
 adjective 
 "good" 
 
 Hmpression- 
 able, sus- 
 
 s an expression 
 of impatience^ 
 asinll. i. 1 
 
 *a quadrisyl- 
 lable 
 
 ^hasten 
 
 * We quickly fall into mistakes, but ever suffer for making them. 
 
158 
 
 JULIUS C^SAR 
 
 [Act V 
 
 Put on my brows this wreath of victory, 
 And bid me give it thee? Didst thou not hear 
 
 their shouts? 
 Alas, thou hast misconstrued 1 everything! 
 But hold thee, 2 take this garland on thy brow; 
 Thy Brutus bid me give it thee, and I 
 Will do his bidding. Brutus, come apace, 3 
 And see how I regarded* Caius Cassius. 
 By your leave, gods : this is a Roman's part: 6 
 Come, Cassius' sword, and find Titinius' heart. 90 
 
 [Kills himself. 
 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 Caesar, thou art mighty yet! 
 Thy spirit walks abroad, and turns our swords 
 In 6 our own proper 7 entrails. [Low alarums. 
 
 Cato. Brave Titinius! 
 
 Look, whether 8 he have not crown'd dead 
 Cassius ! 
 
 Bru. Are yet two Romans living such as 
 these? 
 The last of all the Romans, 9 fare thee well ! 
 It is impossible that ever Rome 100 
 
 Should breed thy fellow. Friends, I owe moe 10 
 
 tears 
 To this dead man than you shall see me pay. 
 I shall find time, Cassius, I shall find time. 
 Come, therefore, and to Thasos send his body: 
 His funerals 11 shall not be in our camp, 
 Lest it 12 discomfort us. Lucilius, come; 
 And come, young Cato; let us to the field. 
 Labeo, 13 and Flavius, 1 * set our battles 15 on: — ■ 
 'Tis three o'clock; and, Romans, yet ere night 1 * 
 We shall try fortune in a second fight. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 1 accent on sec- 
 ond syllable 
 
 3 quickly 
 ^respected 
 6 what a Roman 
 should do 
 
 Hnto 
 
 7 very own 
 
 8 monosyllable 
 
 ^Plutarch's own 
 words 
 
 10 more 
 
 n for the plural 
 form, cf. Fr. 
 funerailles, 
 and the L. 
 funera. We 
 still say 
 "nuptials" 
 
 K "it" is either 
 impersonal 
 or it stands 
 for ' 'the bury- 
 ing" implied 
 in the pre- 
 vious line 
 
 13 Brutus' 
 lieutenant 
 
 lA captain of the 
 pioneers of 
 Brutus' camp 
 
 l5 forces 
 
 u the second bat- 
 tle of Phil- 
 ippi really 
 took place 
 twenty days 
 later 
 
Scene IV] 
 
 JULIUS CJESAR 
 
 159 
 
 Scene IV. Another part of the field. 
 
 Alarum. Enter, fighting, Soldiers of both armies; 
 then Brutus, young Cato, Lucilius, and others. 
 
 Bru. Yet, countrymen, 0, yet hold up your 
 
 heads! 
 Cato. Who will go with me? 
 I will proclaim my name about the field; 
 I am the son of Marcus Cato, ho! 
 A foe to tyrants, and my country's friend; 
 I am the son of Marcus Cato, ho! 
 
 [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 over- 
 powered, and falls. 
 Lucil. O young and noble Cato, art thou 
 down? 
 Why, now thou diest as bravely as Titinius; 10 
 And mayst be 1 honour' d, being Cato's son. 
 1 Sold. Yield, or thou diest. 
 Lucil. Only I yield to die: 2 
 
 There is so much that 3 thou wilt kill me straight; 
 
 [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 
 general. 
 
 Enter Antony. 
 Brutus is ta'en, Brutus is ta'en, my lord. 
 
 Ant. Where is he? 
 
 Lucil. Safe, Antony; Brutus is safe enough : 20 
 I dare assure thee that no enemy 
 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. 
 
 x may thou be 
 
 2 J yield only 
 when I am 
 slain 
 
 3 on condition 
 that 
 
160 
 
 JULIUS CiESAR 
 
 [Act V 
 
 Ant. This is not Brutus, friend; but, I 
 assure you, 
 Aprize 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 whether 1 Brutus be alive, or dead; 30 
 And bring us word unto Octavius' tent, 
 How everything is chanced.* [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. 
 Bru. Sit thee down, Clitus: slaying is the 
 
 word; 
 It is a deed in fashion. Hark thee, Clitus. 
 
 [Whispering. 3 
 Cli. What, I, my lord? No, not for all the 
 
 world. 
 Bru. Peace, then! no words. 
 Cli. I'll rather kill myself. 
 
 Bru. Hark thee, Dardanius. [Whispering. 3 
 Dar. Shall I do such a deed? 
 
 Cli. O Dardanius! 
 
 Dar. O Clitus! 10 
 
 Cli. What ill request did Brutus make to 
 
 thee? 
 Dar. To kill him, Clitus. Look, he med- 
 itates. 
 Cli. 'Now is that noble vessel full of grief, 
 That 4 - it runs over even at his eyes. 
 Bru. Come hither, good Volumnius; list a 
 
 word. 
 Vol. What says my lord? 
 
 x a monosyllable 
 
 (whe'r) 
 2 has turned out 
 
 %e asks him to 
 kill him 
 
 *so full of grief 
 that 
 
Scene V] 
 
 JULIUS C^SAU 
 
 161 
 
 Bru. Why, this, Volumnius: 
 
 The ghost of Caesar hath appear' d to me 
 Two several 1 times by nignt; at Sardis once, 
 And this last night here in Philippi 2 fields: 
 I know my hour is come. 
 
 Vol. Not so, my lord. 20 
 
 Bru. Nay, I am sure it is, Volumnius. 
 Thou seest the world, Volumnius, how it goes; 
 Our enemies have beat 3 us to the pit:* 
 
 [Low alarums. 
 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 prithee, 
 Hold thou my sword-hilts, 5 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 30 
 
 here. 
 Bru. Farewell to you; and you; and you, 
 Volumnius. 
 Strato, thou hast been all this while asleep ; 
 Farewell to thee too, Strato. Countrymen, 
 My heart doth joy, 6 that yet 7 in all my life 
 I found 9 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 9 life's history.* 40 
 
 Night hangs upon mine eyes; my bones would 
 
 rest, 
 That have but labour 7 d to lQ attain this hour. 
 
 [Alarum. Cry within, "Fly, fly, fly!'' 
 Cli. Fly, my lord, fly! 
 Bru. Hence! I will follow. 
 
 [Exeunt Clitus, Dardanius, and 
 Volumnius. 
 
 Separate 
 2 Philippi'i 
 
 3 beaten 
 4 brink of the 
 
 precipice, i. 
 
 e., there is no 
 
 escape 
 
 B sword-hilt 
 
 ^rejoice 
 ^hitherto 
 6 have found 
 
 Hts 
 
 10 have labored 
 but to 
 
 * I. e. Brutus hath almost spoken his last word. 
 
162 
 
 JULIUS C^SAB 
 
 [Act V 
 
 I prithee, Strato, stay thou by thy lord. 
 Thou art a fellow of a good respect; 1 
 Thy life hath had some smatch 2 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 you 
 
 well, my lord. 
 Bru. Farewell, good Strato. [Runs on his 
 sword.] Ccesar, now be still: 3 50 
 
 I kill'd not thee with half so good a will. 
 
 [Dies. 
 Alarum. Retreat. Enter Octavius, Antony, 
 Messala, Lucilius, and their Army. 
 Oct. What man is that? 
 Mes. My master's man. Strato, where is 
 
 thy master? 
 Stra. Free from the bondage you are in, 
 Messala: 
 The conquerors can but make a fire of him; A 
 For Brutus only overcame himself, 
 And no man else hath honour by his death. 
 Lucil. So Brutus should be found. I thank 
 thee, Brutus, 
 That thou hast proved Lucilius 7 saying 6 true. 
 Oct. All that served Brutus, I will entertain 60 
 them. 6 
 Fellow, wilt thou bestow 7 thy time with me? 
 Stra. Ay; if Messala will prefer 9 me to you. 
 Oct. Do so, good Messala. 
 Mes. How died my master, Strato? 
 Stra. 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 Caesar; 70 
 He only, in a general honest thought 
 And common good to all, 9 made one of them. 
 His life was gentle, and the elements 
 
 l held in good 
 esteem 
 
 2 savor 
 
 3 cf. V. iii. 95. 
 Brutus felt 
 deeply the 
 power of 
 Ccesar's 
 spirit. His 
 death is now 
 to * 'lay the 
 ghost" 
 
 4 i. e. burn his 
 body, they 
 cannot drag 
 him captive 
 at their 
 chariot wheels 
 
 5 Lucilius had 
 said: "When 
 you do find 
 him, or alive 
 or dead, He 
 will be found 
 like Brutus, 
 like himself " 
 — V.iv. 24-5 
 
 Hake them into 
 my service. 
 Cf. French 
 entretenir = 
 to keep, pro- 
 vide for 
 
 ''spend 
 
 ^recommend 
 {literally, to 
 bring forward; 
 hence, bring 
 to the notice 
 of) 
 
 9 he alone, think- 
 ing for others 
 and for the 
 welfare of 
 the com- 
 munity 
 
Scene V] 
 
 JULIUS CiESAK 
 
 163 
 
 So mix'd in him 1 that Nature might stand up 
 And say to all the world, "This was a man!" 
 Oct. According to his virtue let us use 2 him, 
 With all respect, and rites of burial. 
 Within my tent his bones 3 to-night shall lie, 
 Most like a soldier, order'd* honourably. 
 So call the field 5 to rest; and let's away, 
 To part 6 the glories of this happy day. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 80 
 
 *i. e. his nature 
 
 was so 
 
 equable 
 Ureat 
 
 3 body 
 Hreated 
 Hhose in the 
 
 field of batik 
 Ho distribute 
 
NOTES 
 Act I. Scene I 
 
 Line 15. Soles. A pun on ' ' souls. ' ' Cf . The Merchant of Venice, IV. 
 i. 120, and Glossary. 
 
 35. Triumph. This triumph was decreed to Caesar for his victory over 
 the sons of Pompey, at Munda, in Spain, 45 B. C. In making the 
 triumph and the festival of the Lupercalia occur at the same time, 
 Shakespeare departs from historical fact, for the triumph took place four 
 months prior to the festival. A triumph wherein a general was escorted 
 in solemn procession through a breach made in the walls of the city was 
 generally decreed to a commander after a notable victory. (See foot- 
 note, p. 62.) 
 
 47. Great Pompey. Cneius Pompeius Magnus, a member of the first 
 Triumvirate, was born 106 B. C. ; died 48 B. C. During his lifetime he 
 enjoyed three triumphs: (1) for his victories in Africa, 81 B. C.j (2) for 
 his victories in Spain, 71 B. C.j (3) for his victories in Asia, 61 B. C. 
 
 50. Tiber. The river on which Rome is located. 
 
 68. Capitol. The Capitol was a temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline 
 Hill. Shakespeare thought the senate met there. (See note I. iii. 36, and 
 III. i. 7.) 
 
 72. Feast of Lupercal. The Lupercalia, a Roman festival, was cele- 
 brated on February 15th in the Lupercal, the cave in which Romulus and 
 Remus were said to have been nurtured by a she-wolf. This festival 
 was originally a purification ceremony of the Palatine city, in which 
 human victims were sacrificed. Later, dogs and goats were the victims, 
 and the celebrants ran around the walls of the old Palatine striking all 
 whom they met with thongs cut from the skins of the slaughtered animals. 
 (See note I. ii. 3.) The word February is derived from the Latin februum, 
 a goat-skin. 
 
 Act I. Scene II 
 
 Antony, for the course. Prepared for running the course. Antony 
 was the high priest of the god Lupercus. 
 
 3. Stand you directly in Antonius' way. "Many noble women, and 
 gentlewomen also, go of purpose to stand in their way, and to put forth 
 
 164 
 
NOTES I65 
 
 their hands to be stricken . . . persuading themselves that, being 
 with child, they shall have good delivery; and so being barren, that it 
 will make them to conceive with child." Plutarch. (See note, I. i. 72.) 
 
 40. Passions. Cf. The Merchant of Venice, III. ii. 107. 
 
 99. Endure the winter's cold. Caesar endeavored by his active life 
 to build up the infirm constitution which it is said he possessed in his 
 youth. (Plutarch's "Caesar.") 
 
 114. .ffineas. . . . Troy . . . Anchises. JEneas was the son 
 of Anchises and Venus. In the Mneid, Virgil tells of the capture of 
 Troy by the Greeks, after a ten years' siege. He relates how iEneas 
 carried Anchises, his father, from the burning city. 
 
 119. He had a fever. "Concerning the constitution of his body, he 
 was lean, white, and soft-skinned, and often subject to headache, and 
 otherwhile to the falling-sickness, the which took him the first time, as 
 it is reported, in Corduba, a city of Spain." (Plutarch's "Caesar.") 
 
 136. Colossus. The Colossus of Ehodes was one of the seven wonders 
 of the world. It was a large bronze image 105 feet high, and its feet 
 rested, one upon each of the two moles which formed the entrance to 
 the harbor. Ships passed full sail between its legs, and few men could 
 span one of its fingers. It was begun in 300 B. C. and completed in 288 
 B. C. 
 
 152. The great flood. According to mythology, the flood, which hap- 
 pened in the time of Deucalion, son of Prometheus, was brought about 
 by Jupiter in consequence of man's impiety. Deucalion and his wife, 
 Pyrrha, escaped to the top of Mount Parnassus, and, by the advice of 
 the oracle of Themis, repaired the loss of mankind by throwing behind 
 them the bones of their grandmother, which were the stones of the earth. 
 Those thrown by Deucalion became men; those thrown by his wife, 
 women. This deluge is supposed to have occurred in Thessaly 1503 B. C. 
 
 159. There was a Brutus. Lucius Junius Brutus, the Consul, 509 
 B. C, son of Marcus Junius and Tarquinia, sister of Tarquinius Superbus, 
 was one of the Bomans who accomplished the expulsion of the Tarquins. 
 He loved his country even better than he loved his children, and con- 
 demned two of his sons to death for attempting to restore the Tarquinian 
 dynasty. According to Pomponius Atticus, the genealogist, Marcus 
 Junius Brutus, the Brutus of the play, known also as Quintus Caepio 
 Brutus, was descended from a third son of Lucius Junius Brutus, the Consul. 
 
 178. The games. This refers to the festival of the Lupercalia. (See 
 note, I. i. 72.) 
 
 185. Cicero. Shakespeare obtained no suggestion from Plutarch for 
 the description he here gives of Cicero. 
 
166 JULIUS CiESAR 
 
 257. Falling sickness. When Caesar was in Africa, before the battle 
 of Thapsus, "the falling sickness took him whereunto he was given." 
 (Plutarch's "Caesar.") On another occasion, according to Plutarch, 
 when he had offended not only the senate but the common people also, 
 ' ' Caesar, rising, departed home to his house, and tearing open his 
 doublet-collar, making his neck bare, he cried aloud to his friends that 
 his throat was ready to offer to any man that would come and cut it. 
 Notwithstanding it is reported, that afterwards, to excuse his folly, he 
 imputed it to his disease, saying, 'their wits are not perfect which have 
 this disease of the falling evil; when standing on their feet they speak 
 to the common people, but are soon troubled with a trembling of their 
 body, and a sudden dimness and giddiness.' " 
 
 270. Doublet. See Glossary. This is an anachronism, for the Romans 
 did not wear doublets. (See note 257, above.) 
 
 292. It was Greek to me. This expression is said to have originated 
 with Shakespeare. 
 
 294. Caesar's images. The Tribunes, Flavius and Marullus, pulled 
 down the images of Caesar, which had been set up some time previously. 
 This so incensed the Dictator that he summarily deprived them of their 
 tribuneships. 
 
 328. Writings. "But for Brutus, his friends and countrymen, both 
 by divers procurements and sundry rumours of the city and by many 
 bills also, did openly call and procure him to do that he did. ' ' (Plutarch 's 
 "Brutus.") 
 
 Act I. Scene III 
 
 3. Sway of earth. Established order of the earth's movement. 
 
 15. Common slave. Slaves were employed to perform all kinds of 
 menial work, and also to assist the state officers. 
 
 36. Capitol. The Capitol, which was one of the most imposing build- 
 ings in Rome, was situated on the Capitoline Hill. Shakespeare confuses 
 the Capitol with the Curia Hostilia in the Forum, in which the senate usually 
 assembled. On the occasion of Caesar 's murder, however, the senate met, not 
 in the Capitol or in the Curia Hostilia, but in a portico in the Campus 
 Martius, a short distance from the Forum. 
 
 49. Thunder-stone. Fabulously supposed to be the product of 
 thunder. 
 
 70. Instruments of fear and warning. Intimations of approaching 
 calamities. 
 
NOTES lg7 
 
 75. The lion in the Capitol. Shakespeare thought that lions were 
 housed in the Capitol at Rome, as they were in the Tower of London. 
 
 126. Pompey's porch. This shaded veranda was a fit rendezvous for 
 conspirators. 
 
 143. Praetor's chair. . . . Brutus' statue. " For under the image 
 of his ancestor Junius Brutus (that drave the kings out of Rome) they 
 wrote : ' O that it pleased the gods thou wert now alive, Brutus ! ' and again, 
 'that thou wert here among us now!' His tribunal or chair, where he 
 gave audience during the time he was Praetor, was full of such bills: 
 'Brutus, thou art asleep, and are not Brutus indeed.' " 
 
 Act II. Scene I 
 
 1. Lucius. The character of Lucius and the affectionate relations 
 between him and Brutus are due to Shakespeare's imagination. 
 
 2. Progress of the stars. This is an allusion to the constellation 
 Libra — the Balance — so called because when the sun enters it the days 
 and nights are equal. 
 
 17. Danger. The argument of Brutus is this: "It is not in Caesar's 
 nature to be tyrannical. But then he has not yet tasted the delights of 
 kingship. Sovereignty may entirely change his nature." 
 
 Act II. Scene II 
 
 32. Cowards die many times. According to Plutarch this was the 
 substance of one of Caesar's sayings. 
 
 109. Welcome, Publius. "So when the day was come, Brutus went 
 out of his house with a dagger by his side under his long gown, that 
 nobody saw nor knew but his wife only. The other conspirators were all 
 assembled at Cassius' house to bring his son into the market-place, who 
 on that day did put on the man's gown, called toga-virilis, and from 
 thence they came all in a troop together unto Pompey's porch, looking 
 that Caesar would straight come hither." (Plutarch's "Brutus.") 
 
 119. Waited for. "The first and chief est (misfortune) was Caesar's 
 long tarrying, who came very late to the senate." (Plutarch's 
 "Brutus.") 
 
 Act II. Scene III 
 
 8. Security. Cf. Macbeth, III. V. 33. 
 15. Contrive. Cf. note 7, page 99. 
 
168 JULIUS CLESAB 
 
 Act III. Scene 1 
 
 The CapitoL (See note, I. i. 68 and I. iii. 36.) At this time the 
 Curia Hostilia, the proper senate-house in the Forum, was undergoing exten- 
 sive repairs and consequently the Senate had to meet in the Curia Pompeiana. 
 Shakespeare has sacrificed historic accuracy to dramatic effect in assign- 
 ing the location of Pompey's statue to the imaginary senate-house in the 
 Capitol, instead of to its proper place in Pompey's theater. 
 
 8. What touches us. "Caesar took it of him, but could never read 
 it, though he many times attempted it, for the number of people that did 
 salute him; but holding it still in his hand, keeping it to himself, went 
 on withal in the senate-house." (Plutarch's "Caesar.") 
 
 47. Nor without cause. Only a real cause could induce Caesar to 
 grant a pardon. 
 
 53. Publius. A fictitious name given by Shakespeare to Cimber's 
 brother. 
 
 60. The northern star. The Pole-star which never sets to inhabitants 
 of the northern hemisphere. By it navigators determine latitudes. 
 
 74. Olympus. In Greek mythology Olympus was the chief seat of 
 the gods who ruled the universe. 
 
 85. Publius. This character should not be confounded with Publius 
 Cimber, nor with the son of Antony's sister. (See Introduction, p. 54.) 
 
 115. Pompey's basis. The base of Pompey's statue. The French 
 removed this statue to the Colosseum in 1798, and there, amidst Italian 
 pomp and French display, performed before it Voltaire's Mort de Cesar. 
 
 202. Close. Cf. Hamlet II. i. 43. 
 
 209. Princes. Deer-hunting, especially in enclosures, was, in the 
 Middle Ages, a favorite pastime of kings. 
 
 230. Speak in the order. If the deceased was of illustrious rank, the 
 funeral procession went through the Forum and stopped before the rostra, 
 where a funeral oration was delivered. This practice was of great 
 antiquity among the Romans. 
 
 268. Quartered. Cut to pieces. 
 
 271. Ate, the daughter of Zeus, was the avenger of evil deeds; hence 
 her character is almost the same as that of Nemesis. 
 
 273. Havoc. A. S. hafoc, a hawk. To cry "havoc"— to cry 
 1 ' hawk, ' ' was probably a cry of encouragement to a hawk when let loose 
 upon its prey. 
 
 286. He lies to-night. Octavius did not arrive in Rome till the fol- 
 lowing May. According to Plutarch, at this time he was in Apollonia, in 
 Illyricum, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic. 
 
NOTES 169 
 
 Act III. Scene II 
 
 92. Honourable. The mistake is frequently made of pronouncing 
 this word as if it were uttered ironically. Not until he feels that the 
 majority of his audience is with him does Antony become ironical. 
 
 105. The Lupercal. A cave surrounded by a grove on the north side 
 of the Palatine Hill, between it and the Circus Maximus. The name is 
 also used for the festival celebrated in honor of the god Lupercus. 
 
 180. I remember. Antony was not with Caesar in the campaign 
 against the Nervii, being at the time in Palestine; neither was he present 
 at the assassination of Caesar, having been drawn "out of the way" by 
 Trebonius. 
 
 183. Nervii. See Historical Introduction, p. 60. 
 
 193. Judge, O you gods. Plutarch claims that because of Caesar's 
 unlawful passion for Servilia, mother of Brutus, he not only pardoned 
 Brutus after the battle of Pharsalia, "but also kept him always about 
 him, and did as much honour and esteem him as any man he had in his 
 company. ' ' 
 
 251. Drachmas. Caesar's will was written in Latin, not in Greek, 
 and the term sestertii, not drachmae, was used. 
 
 258. On this side Tiber. Caesar 's gardens were on the Janiculum on 
 the other side of the Tiber from the Forum. Plutarch has here led Shake- 
 speare into error. 
 
 263. The holy place. The body was burned in the Forum. 
 
 271. Sir, Octavius is already come to Rome. (See note, III. i. 286.) 
 
 278. Are rid like madmen. Here Shakespeare differs from Plutarch, 
 who says they left the city "within a few days." 
 
 Act III. Scene III 
 
 1. I dreamt to-night. Shakespeare frequently introduces dreams as 
 prognostics of good or evil. 
 
 31. For his bad verses. This humorous touch is Shakespeare 's. 
 
 Act IV. Scene I 
 
 5. Who is your sister's son. (See footnote, p. 134.) 
 9. Cut off some charge. Antony's wild and ungovernable life has 
 plunged him into enormous debts, to be relieved of which he stoops to 
 duplicity of the basest nature — the falsification of Caesar's will. "Al- 
 though," says Cicero, "at the time of Caesar's death he (Antony) owed 
 
170 JULIUS C^ESAK 
 
 
 more than one million five hundred thousand dollars, yet within less than a 
 fortnight he had paid it all off. " (Philippic ii. 37.) 
 
 37. Objects, arts, and imitations. An "object" is anything that can 
 be recognized by the senses and probably is here used with that meaning. 
 "Arts" is used by Shakespeare in the sense of instruction, learning. 
 "Imitations" has the meaning of fashion. Cf. "Other slow arts entirely 
 keep the brain." (Love's Labour's Lost IV. iii.) "Well fitted in arts." 
 (Love's Labour's Lost II. i.) "Those arts they have as I could put into 
 them." (Cymbeline V. v.) "Without what imitation you can borrow 
 from youth of such a season." (Cymbeline III. iv.) 
 
 Act IV. Scene II 
 
 16. Familiar instances. Signs or proofs of familiarity. 
 26. Crests. Frequently used by Shakespeare of horses. (The rhetor- 
 ical figure Synecdoche.) 
 
 Act IV. Scene III 
 
 10. An itching palm. Plutarch tells us that Cassius "would often- 
 times be carried away from justice for gain." 
 
 15. The name of Cassius. A satirical retort to the words "You are 
 Brutus," in 1. 13. 
 
 47. Spleen. A spongy viscus near the large extremity of the stomach, 
 formerly supposed to be the seat of melancholy, anger, or vexation. 
 
 76. To you for gold. According to Plutarch, this request was made 
 after the meeting at Sardis, and was not refused. 
 
 98. I could weep. An abrupt change of person, an indication of 
 Cassius' increased excitement. 
 
 147. Portia is dead. According to Plutarch, Portia died after the 
 death of Brutus. 
 
 175. An hundred senators. In the Life of Brutus, Plutarch says 
 two hundred senators, and in the Life of Antony, three hundred "of the 
 chief est citizens," were condemned to death by proscription. Shake- 
 speare has reproduced the apparent discrepancy of the two accounts. 
 
 194. In art. Cassius means that he had studied to acquire stoicism, 
 but his natural disposition was opposed to it. 
 
 197. Of marching to Philippi presently. According to Plutarch, this 
 discussion took place at Philippi. 
 
 206. Grudg'd us contribution. Plutarch relates that when Brutus 
 "sent unto the Lycians to require money and men of war," the cities 
 rebelled against him. They "did despise his courtesy and good nature." 
 
NOTES 171 
 
 254. Book. Books in Caesar's time were written on rolls of papyrus; 
 hence the "leaf turned down" is an anachronism. Brutus is said to 
 have been employed the night before the battle of Pharsalia in making 
 an abridgment of Pausanias. Eoman pockets were bags rather than 
 pockets as we understand the term, not invented till the fourteenth cen- 
 tury. Thus, pocket also is an anachronism. 
 
 276. Ha! who comes here? According to Plutarch, the ghost appeared 
 at Abydos, not at Sardis. 
 
 Act V. Scene I. 
 
 Plains of Philippi. For a description of the battle see Historical 
 Introduction, pages 65-67. 
 
 20. I do not cross you. I will not argue the point, but I will do as 
 I say. 
 
 34. Hybla bees. Hybla was the name of three towns in Sicily. That 
 known as Hybla Minor — later Megara — was probably the one from which 
 came the Hyblaean honey so frequently mentioned by the poets. 
 
 41. You show'd. Antony draws upon his imagination. (See note III. 
 ii. 180.) 
 
 77. Epicurus. A celebrated Greek, founder of the Epicurean school 
 of philosophy. He was born B. C. 342, and died in 270. He regarded 
 human happiness, resulting from a virtuous life, as the chief end of man. 
 He conceived the gods as exercising no influence upon creation, and hence 
 his followers did not believe in omens or portents. 
 
 80. Sardis. The Lydian capital in Asia Minor. Early in 42 B. C, 
 Brutus and Cassius there united their forces against the Cesareans. It 
 was one of the earliest seats of the Christian religion. 
 
 104. I do find. There is a discrepancy between the statements of 
 Brutus in this passage and in the next. In this speech he finds it "cow- 
 ardly and vile" to anticipate destiny by committing suicide; in the next 
 he implies that he intends to slay himself in the event of defeat. The 
 discrepancy, as the Clarendon Press Editors have pointed out, is due to 
 Shakespeare 's being misled by Plutarch. In the line, ' ' I truste a certain 
 rule of philosophy, etc.," the word truste, although evidently a past 
 tense, must have been read by Shakespeare as the present. (See footnote, 
 p. 153.) 
 
 Act V. Scene III 
 
 23. This day. Plutach says Cassius died on the anniversary of his 
 birth. 
 
 37. Parthia. A country in Asia, southeast of the Caspian sea. In 
 
172 JULIUS CJESAK 
 
 ' 
 
 his campaign against the Parthians in 53 B. C, Cassius, who was then 
 Quaestor to Crassus, greatly distinguished himself. After the defeat of 
 Crassus at Carrhae in that year, and his subsequent assassination by a 
 Persian satrap, Cassius assumed command of the Eoman legions. 
 
 41. Freeman. Eomans, when about to die, frequently freed their slaves. 
 
 64. Dews. Cf. As stars with trains of fire and dews of blood. 
 Hamlet I. i. 117. 
 
 71. Kill 'st. It was, and is still, generally believed that snakes swal- 
 low their young to protect them from danger. 
 
 109. 'Tis three o'clock. Commentators refer to the inconsistency 
 between this statement and "O, setting sun," 1. 60. From this line and 
 the line following, it is not necessary to conclude that the sun was setting 
 at that moment. The present tense often denotes futurity, so that ' ' dost 
 sink" may mean shalt siiik. In northern climates (of which Shakespeare 
 was thinking), on March evenings the sun is often red as it descends to 
 the horizon, at or soon after three o'clock. 
 
 Act. V. Scene IV 
 
 4. Cato. Marcus, great-grandson of Cato the Censor, born in Utica, 
 95 B. C. He was of a stern, unyielding character and was devoted to 
 Stoic principles. He vehemently opposed the measures of Caesar, Pompey, 
 and Crassus. He committed suicide 46 B. C. rather than fall into the 
 hands of Caesar. (See Historical Introduction, p. 60.) 
 
 Act V. Scene V 
 
 13. Vessel. Vessel is often used by Shakespeare of persons, especially 
 in the phrase ' ' the weaker vessel, ' ' which occurs four times. 
 
 73. His life was gentle. This description of Brutus has been fre- 
 quently applied to Shakespeare himself. 
 
 73. The elements. The first or constituent parts of anything — all 
 existing things having been supposed to consist of fire, air, water, and 
 earth. According to ancient psychological notions, choler was ascribed 
 to fire j blood, to air; phlegm, to water; and melancholy to earth. 
 
GRAMMATICAL NOTES 
 
 On reading the works of Elizabethan authors we wonder at the many 
 points of difference in grammar and meaning between their English and 
 the English of today. Yet, there is really no cause for surprise. The great 
 " renascence ; ' had just taken place, and the ancient classics were being 
 studied in England as they never before had been studied. Changes in 
 structure and meaning in the language of Chaucer were demanded and 
 introduced, but as old prejudices die hard the result for a time was chaos. 
 Neither party — the devotees of the old and the advocates of the new — 
 would give way, so both reigned, but neither was supreme. Language is 
 given to interpret thought, and the result of the conflict between the old 
 and the new was a language clear in thought but doubtful in expression. 
 Such must be the conditions in all transitional periods. Hence, though the 
 Elizabethan English differs in many respects from the English of today, it 
 was and is intelligible. The change from the old forms through the Eliia- 
 bethan English to our present forms was slow indeed, but changes that are 
 to endure are not wrought in a generation. 
 
 In this may be found the raison d'etre of the so-called grammatical 
 difficulties of Shakespeare. Besides, in those days printed books were less 
 common than they are now, and even today spoken language is frequently 
 less grammatical than that which is written. 
 
 Prepositions Frequently Interchanged 
 
 In respect of (I. i. 10). Compared with. 
 
 Be not jealous on me (I. ii. 71). Of. 
 
 Upon the word (I. ii. 104). Immediately after and in consequence of. 
 Cf. our "thereupon." 
 
 0' nights (I. ii. 193). During. 
 
 Sensible of (I. iii. 18). Sensible to, though this arises rather from the 
 meaning of " sensible. ' ' 
 
 Upon a heap (I. iii. 23). In. 
 
 The climate that they point upon (I. iii. 32). Towards. 
 
 173 
 
174 JULIUS CAESAR 
 
 Clean from the purpose of the things themselves (I. iii. 35). Con- 
 trary to. 
 
 Cast yourself in wonder (I. iii. 60). Into. Frequent use after verbs of 
 motion. 
 
 Unto some monstrous state (I. iii. 71). Of. 
 
 And we are governed with our mothers' spirits (1. iii. 83). By. 
 
 I am glad on 't (I. iii. 137). Of. 
 
 Shall Rome stand under one man's awe? (II. i. 52). In awe of one 
 man. 
 
 I think we are too bold upon your rest (II. i. 86). In intruding upon. 
 
 We shall find of him a shrewd contriver (II. i. 157). In. 
 
 Quite from the main opinion he held once (II. i. 196). Different from. 
 
 Go along by him (II. i. 218). By his house. 
 
 Within the bond of marriage (II. i. 280). In. 
 
 Beyond all use (II. ii. 25). Contrary to all usage. 
 
 Your statue spouting blood in many pipes (II. ii. 85). From. 
 
 Thaw'd from the true quality with that which melteth fools (III. i. 
 41). By. 
 
 Of whose true-fixed and resting quality (III. i. 61). To. 
 
 Unshaked of motion (III. i. 70). By. 
 
 I know that we shall have him well to friend (III. i. 143). For a 
 friend; as a friend. 
 
 And pity to the general wrong of Rome (III. i. 170). For. 
 
 Upon this hope (III. i. 221). In; on the strength of. 
 
 In his funeral (III. i. 233). During. 
 
 Their infants quarter 'd with the hands of war (III. i. 268). By. 
 
 Marr'd, as you see, with traitors (III. ii. 207). By. 
 
 He comes upon a wish (III. ii. 275). Immediately after and in conse- 
 quence of. 
 
 Belike they had some notice of the people (III. ii. 279). From; about. 
 
 Bayed about with many enemies (IV. i. 49). By. Cf. III. i. 269 and 
 III. ii. 207. 
 
 Like horses hot at hand (IV. ii. 23). Either when held in hand or 
 by the hand. 
 
 A little from this ground (IV. ii. 49). Away from. 
 
 Sick of many griefs (IV. iii. 144). With; because of. 
 
 Upon what sickness (IV. iii. 152). In consequence of, or, as a result of. 
 
 With her death (IV. iii. 154). Just before. 
 
 By strange manner (IV. iii. 189). In. "By," "with," "from," 
 and "in" all represent the Latin Ablative, and are frequently inter- 
 changed. 
 
GEAMMATICAL NOTES 175 
 
 Under your pardon (IV. iii. 214). With. 
 With your will (IV. iii. 225). In accordance with. 
 Having some advantage on Octavius (V. iii. 6). Over. 
 Even with a thought (V. iii. 19). As quickly as. 
 Eevenged, with the sword (V. iii. 45). By means of. 
 Turns our swords in our own proper entrails (V. iii. 95). Into. 
 In a general honest thought (V. v. 71). Filled with. We still talk 
 of a person as being in a good frame of mind, in a temper, etc. 
 
 Transposition of Adverbs 
 
 And when you saw his chariot but appear (I. i. 48). When you saw 
 but (only) his chariot appear. 
 
 If Caesar carelessly but nod (I. ii. 118). If Caesar but carelessly nod. 
 
 Where Brutus may but find it (I. iii. 144). Where but (only) Brutus 
 may find it. Cf. I. i. 48 and I. i. 118. 
 
 Come and call me here (II. i. 8). Come here and call me. 
 
 Alone on Cassius (IV. iii. 93). On Cassius alone (only). 
 
 Fly o'er our heads and downward look on us (V. i. 86). Look down- 
 ward. 
 
 I but partly it believe (V. i. 90). I believe it but partly. Cf. I. ii. 
 118 and I. iii. 144. 
 
 Only I yield to die (V. iv. 12). I only yield to die. Cf. IV. iii. 93. 
 
 They have but labour 'd to attain (V. v. 42). They have laboured but 
 to attain. 
 
 Adjectives as Adverbs 
 
 He put it by thrice, every time gentler than other (I. ii. 229). More 
 gently. 
 
 Caesar doth bear me hard (I. ii. 322). Hardly; with difficulty. 
 
 And after this let Caesar seat him sure (I. ii. 330). Surely. 
 
 Indeed, it is a strange-disposed time (I. iii. 33). Strangely. 
 
 Of honour ab te-dangerous consequence (I. iii. 124). Honourably. 
 
 And open perils surest answered (IV. i. 47). Most surely. 
 
 Come on refreshed, new-added, and encouraged (IV. iii. 209). Newly- 
 added. 
 
 Young man, thou couldst not die more honourable (V. i. 60). Hon- 
 ourably. 
 
176 JULIUS CAESAR 
 
 Irregular Use of the Relative Pronoun 
 
 Relative pronouns were formerly used more irregularly than now, as 
 the following examples will show. 
 
 I have not from your eyes that gentleness 
 
 And show of love as I was wont to have (I. ii. 33). 
 * ' As ' ' in this case = which or that. 
 
 Who glared upon me (I. iii. 21). Which. In Shakespeare's time 
 "who/' ' 'which," and "that" were used without much distinction. 
 
 That is no fleering tell-tale (I. iii. 117). Here we have "that" for 
 "as." Cf. I. ii. 34, for the converse case. 
 
 As who goes farthest (I. iii. 119). As he who goes farthest. 
 
 That will be thaw'd (III. i. 41). We should say "as." 
 
 That now on Pompey's basis lies along (III. i. 115). Who. 
 
 Who, much enforced, shows a hasty spark (IV. iii. 111). Which. 
 
 Who to Philippi here consorted us (V. i. 83). Which. 
 
 Omission op the Relative 
 
 From that it is disposed (I. ii. 319). From that to which it is 
 disposed. 
 
 Lucius, who's that knocks? (II. i. 309). Who's that who knocks? 
 There is one within . . . recounts most horrid sights (II. ii. 14). 
 
 There is one within . . . who recounts, etc. 
 Why, know'st thou any harm's intended? (II. iv. 31). Any harm 
 that is intended. 
 
 there were an Antony 
 Would ruffle up your spirits (III. ii. 236) 
 
 An Antony who would ruffle, etc. 
 I may do that I shall be sorry for (IV. iii. 64.) That which. Cf. IV. 
 iii. 65 and V. v. 69. 
 
 Archaic Forms of the Past Participle 
 
 Originally strong past participles ended in en, but in Elizabethan 
 English there was a tendency to drop this suffix both in the infinitive and in 
 the participle, and so we get many shortened forms of the participle, or what 
 looks like the past tense for the participle. 
 
 Then, Brutus, I have much mistook your passion (I. ii. 48). Mistaken. 
 
 Thy honourable metal may be wrought (I. ii. 318). Shakespeare 
 always uses ' ' wrought ' ' both for the past tense and the past participle 
 of "work." Worked is a modern form, but we still use "wrought" in 
 speaking of metals, etc., e. g., ' ' wrought iron. ' ' 
 
GEAMMATICAL NOTES 177 
 
 Have rived the knotty oaks (I. iii. 6). Eiven. Cf. IV. iii. 84. 
 
 Where I have took them up (II. i. 50). Taken. 
 
 Secret Komans, that have spoke the word (II. i. 125). Spoken. 
 
 The clock hath stricken three (II. i. 192). Struck. 
 
 Stole from my bed (II. i. 238). Stolen. 
 
 O, what a time have you chose out (II. i. 314). Chosen. 
 
 Caesar, 'tis strucken eight (II. ii. 114). It has struck. 
 
 Vnshaked of motion (III. i. 70). Unshaken. 
 
 Untrod (III. i. 136). Untrodden. 
 
 How like a deer, strucken by many princes (III. i. 209). Struck. 
 
 Till Antony have spoke (III. ii. 68). Spoken. 
 
 You have forgot the will I told you of (III. ii. 247). Forgotten. 
 
 Are rid like madmen through the gates of Eome (III. ii. 277). 
 Have ridden. 
 
 Shall I be frighted when a madman stares (IV. iii. 40). Frightened 
 or affrighted. 
 
 With this she fell distract (IV. iii. 155). Distracted or distraught. 
 
 Nor nothing in your letters writ of her (IV. iii. 183). Written. 
 
 Our enemies have beat us to the pit (V. v. 23). Beaten. 
 
 The Infinitive Form Used for the Gerund 
 
 To think that or our cause or our performance (II. i. 135). By 
 thinking. 
 
 To think that Caesar, etc. (III. i. 40). In thinking. 
 
 What cause withholds you then to mourn for him? (III. ii. 103). 
 From mourning. 
 
 I have o'ershot myself to tell you of it (III. ii. 161). In teUing. 
 
 To stir men's blood (III. ii. 232). For stirring. 
 
 To walk abroad and recreate yourselves (III. ii. 260). For walking 
 abroad and recreating yourselves. 
 
 You wronged yourself to write (IV. iii. 6). By writing. 
 
 Are much condemn 'd to have an itching palm (IV. iii. 10). For having. 
 
 To hedge me in (IV. iii. 30). In hedging. 
 
 Omission of Verb of Motion 
 
 I'll about (I. i. 74). Go about. Cf. III. ii. 214. 
 
 And every man hence to his idle bed (II. i. 117). Go hence. Cf. IV. 
 iii. 138 and IV. iii. 231. 
 
178 JULIUS (LESAB 
 
 Caesar shall forth (II. ii. 10). Go forth. Cf. III. i. 119. 
 
 Or shall we on (III. i. 217). Go on. 
 
 I will myself into the pulpit first (III. i. 236). Go into. 
 
 Thou shalt not back (III. i. 291). Go back. 
 
 And thither will I straight to visit him (III. ii. 274). Will I go. 
 
 We'll along ourselves (IV. iii. 226). Go along. 
 
 Singular Verb with Plural Subject 
 
 There's two or three of us have seen strange sights (I. iii. 138). 
 There are. 
 
 7« Decius Brutus, and Trebonius, there (I. iii. 148) ? Are. 
 
 There is tears for his love (III. ii. 30). Are. 
 
 When grief and blood ill-temper 'd vexeth him (IV. iii. 114). Vex. 
 
 Plural Verb with Singular Subject 
 
 And grief, that young Octavius with Mark Antony 
 
 Have made themselves so strong (IV. iii. 153). 
 
 The posture of your blows are yet unknown (V. i. 33). 
 
 Interrogative Verb Without Auxiliary 
 
 Brought you Caesar home? (I. iii. 1). Did you bring? 
 Why stare you so? (I. iii. 2). Why do you stare? 
 
 Comes Caesar to the Capitol to-morrow? (I. iii. 36). Does Caesar 
 come? Cf. IV. iii. 27. 
 
 Wrong I mine enemies? (IV. ii. 38). Do I wrong? 
 
 Auxiliary Verbs Employed Differently from Present Usage. 
 
 And he shall wear his crown by sea and land (I. iii. 87). Is to. 
 Shall I entreat a word? (II. i. 100). May I? 
 Caesar should be a beast without a heart (II. ii. 42). Would. 
 They could be content (V. i. 8). Would. 
 
 Past Tense for Perfect 
 
 He came not back (V. v. 3). Has not come. 
 
 I found no man but he was true to me (V. v. 35). Have found. 
 
GEAMMATICAL NOTES 179 
 
 Abstract Nouns Used in the Plural 
 
 Which give some soil, perhaps, to my behaviours (I. ii. 42). Behaviour. 
 Our youths and wildness shall no whit appear (II. i. 148). Youth. 
 Cowards die many times before their deaths (II. ii. 32). Death. 
 And sell the mighty space of our large honours (IV. iii. 25). Honour. 
 And in their steads do ravens, crows, and kites (V. i. 85). Stead. 
 
 Accusative for Nominative and Vice Versa 
 
 But we the doers (III. i. 94). Us. 
 
 I do beseech ye (III. i. 157). "Ye" is nominative. 
 
 Save I alone (III. ii. 68). Me. Cf. also V. v. 69. 
 
 Nouns as Adjectives 
 
 Draw them to Tiber banks (I. i. 63). 
 His coward lips did from their color fly (I. ii. 122). 
 With carrion men, groaning for burial (III. i. 275). 
 And this last night here in Philippi fields (V. v. 19). 
 
 Double Superlatives 
 
 With the most boldest and best hearts of Eome (III. i. 121). 
 This was the most unkindest cut of all (III. ii. 193). 
 
 Double Negatives 
 
 Yet 'twas not a crown neither (I. ii. 236). 
 
 Nor to no Roman else (III. i. 91). 
 
 Nor no instrument (III. i. 154). 
 
 Nor nothing in your letters (IV. iii. 183). 
 
 Miscellaneous Irregular Constructions 
 
 You ought not walk (I. i. 3). To walk. Modern usage drops the 
 infinitive after certain verbs — behold, feel, hear, know, observe, see, etc. 
 
 A labouring day (I. i. 4). A day for laboring. 
 
 Wherefore art not in thy shop to-day (I. i. 32). Note omission of 
 subject. 
 
 To see great Pompey pass the streets of Rome (I. i. 47). Pass along. 
 
180 
 
 JULIUS CAESAR 
 
 That Tiber trembled underneath her banks (I. i. 50). Its. Elizabethan 
 writers scarcely ever used the form ''its." It is found only once in the 
 Authorized Version of the Bible. 
 
 Go see (I. ii. 25). Go and see. 
 
 And after scandal them (I. ii. 76). Afterwards. 
 
 What hath proceeded worthy note to-day (I. ii. 181). Worthy of note. 
 
 Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look (I. ii. 194). That. 
 
 He put it by thrice, every time gentler than other (I. ii. 229). The 
 other. 
 
 He plucked me ope his doublet (I. ii. 270). Ethical dative; the 
 meaning is "I saw him pluck open." 
 
 And after this, let Caesar seat him sure (I. ii. 330). Himself. Cf. 
 I. iii. 156. 
 
 Cassius, what night is this! (I. iii. 42). What a night. 
 
 Here, as I point my sword (II. i. 106). "As" used loosely for 
 1 ' where. ' ' 
 
 What need we any spur? (II. i. 123). Why. 
 
 Nor the insuppressive mettle of our spirits (II. i. 134). Insuppressible. 
 
 Dear my lord (II. i. 255). My dear lord. 
 
 Ay, and truly, you were best (III. iii. 12). It would be best for you. 
 
 These many, then, shall die (IV. i. 1). So many. 
 
 Call Claudius, and some other of my men (IV. iii. 243). Others. 
 
 Bear with me, good boy, I am much forgetful (IV. iii. 256). Very. 
 Much is now used with passive participles only. 
 
 If thou dost nod, thou brealc'st thy instrument (IV. iii. 272). A vivid 
 present for "thou art sure to break," "will break." In most languages 
 the present tense can be used for either a vivid past or future. 
 Fly o'er our heads, and downward look on us, 
 is we were sickly prey (V. i. 86). 
 
 As if. Cf. As it were doomsday (III. i. 97). 
 
 And then I swore thee saving of thy life (V. iii. 38). In saving. 
 * ' Saving ' ' is the gerund or verbal noun, and should be preceded by the prep- 
 osition. The preposition often appears under the form "a," e. g. "the 
 house was long a-building, " i. e. in building. Then the preposition dropped 
 out and the verbal noun became confused with the participial adjective; 
 e. g. a sewing machine = a machine for sewing with. 
 
 Take thou the hilts (V. iii. 43). Hilt. Shakespeare uses both the 
 singular and the plural form in speaking of one sword. My sword-hilts 
 (V. v. 28). 
 
VERSIFICATION 
 
 The arrangement and much of the subject-matter of the following pages 
 
 are from Dr. Abbott's Shakespearian Grammar. 
 
 The ordinary line in blank verse consists of five feet of two syllables each 
 
 (iambic pentameter), the second syllable in each foot being accented. 
 
 But ye's | terda'y | the wo'rd | of Cas's J ar mi'ght 
 Have stoo'd | again'st | the wor'ld: | now lie's | he the're, 
 And no'ne | so poo'r | to do' | him re'v | eren'ce. III. ii. 129-131. 
 But as this line is too monotonous and formal for frequent use, the 
 metre is varied, sometimes by changing the position of the accent, by 
 introducing trisyllabic and monosyllabic feet, and by other devices of 
 which Shakespeare took advantage. 
 The accent after a pause is frequently on the first syllable, (trochee). 
 
 Cow'ards | die ma'n | y time's | befor'e | their dea'ths. II. ii. 32. 
 This ' * pause accent ' ' usually occurs at the beginning of a line. Some- 
 times it follows a full stop in the middle. 
 
 He com'es | upon' | a wis'h. | Fo'rtune | is me'rr(y). III. ii. 275. 
 Was Ca'ss | ius bor'n. | Give' me | thy ha'nd, | Messa'l(a). V. i. 72. 
 Occasionally we have two consecutive trochees. 
 
 2 Cit. Cae'sar | has ha'd | great wro'ng. | 
 
 3 Cit. |Ha's he, |ma'sters? III. ii. 120. 
 An extra syllable is frequently added before a pause, especially at the end 
 
 of a line. 
 
 Our cou'rse | will see'm | too bloo'd | y, Ca'i | us Ca'ss(ius). 
 
 II. i. 162. 
 So le't | it be' | with Cae's(ar). | The no' | ble Brut (us). 
 
 III. ii. 87. 
 I wi'U | not do' | thee so' | much wro'ng | to wake thee. 
 
 IV. iii. 271. 
 Such extra syllables are called double — or feminine — endings, and 
 they afford a useful indication of the approximate date of the play. 
 Speaking generally, if double endings are rare, e. g. four per cent in 
 Love's Labour's Lost, 1588, we may infer that the play is of early 
 date ; if they occur frequently, that it belongs to a later period, e. g. 
 thirty-three per cent in The Tempest, 1610, 
 
 181 
 
182 JULIUS CiESAK 
 
 Unaccented monosyllables. Provided there be only one accented syllable, 
 there may be more than two syllables in any foot. 
 
 No'ne that | I kno'w | will be', | mu'ch that I | fear ma'y chance. 
 
 II. iv. 32. 
 I was su're | your lo'rd | ship di'd | not gi've | it m'e. IV. iii. 255. 
 Let me se'e, | let me se'e ; | is no't | the leaf | turn 'd down. 
 
 IV. iii. 274. 
 
 Accented monosyllables. Sometimes an unemphatie monosyllable, such as 
 and, at, for, from, if, in, of, or, is allowed to stand in an emphatic place, 
 and to receive an accent. When such syllables occur at the end of a 
 line, they are called "weak endings." These appear for the first time 
 in considerable numbers in Macbeth, 1605, and hardly appear at all in 
 Shakespeare's earlier plays. 
 
 Such m'en | as he' | be n'e | ver a't | heart's e'ase. I. ii. 208. 
 
 To wa'lk | unbra'c | ed, a'nd | suck u'p | th(e) humo'urs. II. i. 262. 
 
 You ha've | f orgo't | the wi'll | I told | you o'f . III. ii. 247. 
 
 The paucity of weak endings found in Julius Cwsar affords evidence 
 that the play was written much earlier than either Antony and Cleo- 
 patra or Coriolanus, in which they are comparatively numerous. 
 
 Two extra syllables are sometimes allowed, if unemphatie, before a pause, 
 especially at the end of a line. 
 
 To ma'sk | thy mo'n | strous vis'(a)ge? | Seek no'ne, | conspi'r | 
 (acy). II. i. 81. 
 
 How fo'ol | ish do' | your fea'rs | seem now', | Calpu'r | (nia). 
 
 II. ii. 105. 
 
 And Bru' | tus An' | tony', | there we're | an An' | (tony). III. ii. 236. 
 
 In this line the first "Antony" is more emphatic than the second. 
 
 Syllables omitted. Many syllables which we now pronounce were formerly 
 omitted in pronunciation. Thus: 
 
 A soo'th | sayer bi'ds | you fcewa're | the i'des | of Ma'rch. 
 
 I. ii. 19. 
 Submi'tt | ing me' | unto' | the pe'ri j lous ni'ght. I. iii. 47. 
 
 We '11 alo'ng | ourse'lves, | and mee't | them a't | Phili'ppi. 
 
 IV. iii. 226. 
 Which giv'e | some so'il, | perha'ps, | to my | behaviours. I. ii. 42. 
 Sometimes two syllables coalesce, or are rapidly pronounced together. 
 Set hon' | or in' | one ey'e | and dea'th | i'th'oth | er. I. ii. 86. 
 
 Let u's | be sa'cri/rc | ers bu't | not bu't | chers, Caius. II. i. 166. 
 Our pu'r | pose ne'e j essary, bu't | not en' | vious. II. i. 178. 
 
VEESIFICATION 183 
 
 Similarly ' 'whether' '■ — often spelt "where" — in the folios is fre- 
 quently a monosyllable. Cf. I. i. 64, II. i. 194, V. iii. 97, V. iv. 30. So 
 also ' 'spirit" in I. ii. 29, 147; I. iii. 83, 95; II. i. 134, 169, 324, etc., 
 and ' ' either ' ' in IV. i. 23 are monosyllables. 
 
 Lengthening of words.. The termination "ion" is frequently pronounced 
 as two syllables at the end of a line — rarely in the middle. 
 
 The na' | ture o'f | an in' | surrec't | ion'. II. i. 69. 
 
 Similarly "satisfaction" in II. ii. 73, "permission" in III. i. 239 
 
 — but a trisyllable in III. ii. 66; "proscription" in IV. i. 17 and IV. 
 
 iii. 180. "Ambitious" is a quadrisyllable in III. ii. 88, 96, 100, 103, 
 
 108; "impatience" is a quadrisyllable in II. i. 248; "fashion" is a 
 
 trisyllable in IV. iii. 135, and ' ' soldier ' » in IV. i. 28 and IV. iii. 51. 
 
 "K" final is pronounced with a kind of "burr/' giving the effect 
 
 of an additional syllable. 
 
 Cos. Good ni'ght, ] my lo'rd. | 
 
 Bru. Good ni'ght, | good bro'th | er. IV. iii. 238. 
 
 Monosyllables are frequently pronounced as dissyllables. 
 
 As fi' | re drives | out fire, | so pit | y pi't | y. III. i. 171. 
 
 Le't me | tell yo' | u, Cas's | ius, yo'u | yourse'lf. IV. iii. 9. 
 
 So also "hour" in II. ii. 121, "fire" in III. ii. 264, "fare"— in 
 "farewell" — IV. iii. 232, etc. Observe the scansion of the lines: 
 
 ' ' Spe'ak, | stri'ke, | redre'ss ! " | Am I | entrea'ted. II. i. 55. 
 Lo'ok, how | he maTses | to Cae's | ar : ma'r | k him. III. i. 18. 
 You sha'll | read u's | the wi' 1 11, Cae's | ar 's w'ill. III. ii. 159. 
 Cos. Ci'cer | o on' | e? 
 
 Mes. Ci'c | er'o | is dead. IV. iii. 179. 
 
 Monosyllabic exclamations often take the place of a foot. 
 
 Struck Cae's | ar on' | the ne'ck. | O', you flat't(e)rers! V. i. 44. 
 Alexandrines containing six pronounced accents are very rare in Shakespeare. 
 There is only one in Julius Ccesar: 
 
 And the'se | does she' | apply' | for wa'rn | ings an'd | porte'nts. 
 
 II. ii. 80. 
 Apparent Alexandrines are frequent. They can usually be explained by the 
 omission of unemphatic syllables. Sometimes they are couplets of two 
 verses of three accents each. Thus: 
 
 Is li'ke | to la'y | upon us. | I 'm gla'd | that m/ | weak wor'ds. 
 
 I. ii. 175 
 can be explained by the omission of the first syllable of "upon." 
 
 That ma'de | them do'(i)t: | they (a) re wi'se | and hon" | (ou)ra'ble. 
 
 III. ii. 223. 
 
184 JULIUS C^ESAB 
 
 The following is an example of a trimeter couplet: 
 
 The o'ld | Anchi' | ses bea'r, 1 1 so f ro'm | the wa'ves | of Ti'ber. 
 
 I. ii. 114. 
 
 Lines with four accents are not uncommon where there is an interruption. 
 
 Messa' | la! (Mess, standing forth.) | What sa'ys | my ge'n | era'l? 
 
 V. i. 70. 
 He's ta'en. | (Shout.) | And, ha'rk! | they shou't | for jo'y. 
 
 V. iii. 32. 
 Single lines with two or three accents are frequently found interspersed 
 among the ordinary lines. Numerous examples will be found in Abbott 's 
 Shakespearian Grammar, to which the student is referred. 
 
 Ehyme is sparingly used by Shakespeare in his later plays, and when used 
 it is always with a definite purpose. Thus it marks the close of a scene 
 in I. ii., in V. iii., and V. v. In V. iii. 89 it marks the deliberateness 
 with which Titinius puts an end to his own life; similarly, in V. v. 50, 
 when Brutus dies. The use of rhyme, says Coleridge, "is unfrequent 
 in proportion to the excellence of Shakespeare's plays." 
 
 Prose is used in comic scenes, I. i., III. iii. ; in colloquial scenes, as in I. ii., 
 where it indicates Casca's assumed bluntness; for letters, II. iii., and in 
 the speech of Brutus, showing that he calmly and deliberately appeals 
 to the reason of his hearers, thus affording a contrast to the speech of 
 Antony, appealing to the emotions. 
 
VARIANTS AND PROPOSED EMENDATIONS 
 
 A few only of the more important are given. Other readings will be found in 
 the Clarendon Press edition, and in the Temple Shakespeare, to which 
 we have occasionally referred. 
 
 Ff. W dikes; Eowe, walls. 
 
 Ff. Why old men, Fooles and children calculate; Blackstone, 
 
 Why old men fool, and children calculate. 
 Ff. Is Fauos, like; Johnson, In Favour's like; Eowe, Is 
 
 feav'rous like; Capell, 7s favour 'd like. 
 Ides of March, Theobald's correction of Ff. first of March. 
 Fourteen, Theobald's correction of Ff. -fifteen. 
 Ff. 1, 3, 4, For if thy path thy . . .; F. 2, For if thou 
 
 path, thy . . .; Pope, For if thou march, thy . . .; 
 
 Coleridge, For if thou put thy . . . 
 i. 114, 116. Pope gives this speech to Casca. 
 
 Ff. in strength of malice; Capell, no strength of malice; 
 
 Pope, exempt from malice; Badham, unstring their malice. 
 Ff. limbs; Johnson, lives; Craik, loins. 
 Ff. Objects, Arts; Staunton, objects, orts; Theobald, abject 
 
 orts; Gould, objects, orts. 
 IV. i. 44. F. 1, our meanes stretcht; Ff. 2, 3, 4, and out best meanes 
 
 stretcht out; Johnson, our best means stretcht; Malone, 
 
 our means stretch' d to the utmost. 
 TV. ii. 50, 53. Craik suggests that Lucilius and Lueius should be trans- 
 
 I. 
 
 ii. 
 
 155. 
 
 I. 
 
 iii. 
 
 65. 
 
 I. 
 
 iii 
 
 129. 
 
 II. 
 
 i. 
 
 40. 
 
 II. 
 
 i. 
 
 59. 
 
 II. 
 
 i. 
 
 83. 
 
 III. 
 
 i. 
 
 114, 
 
 III. 
 
 i. 
 
 174. 
 
 III. 
 
 i. 
 
 262. 
 
 IV. 
 
 i. 
 
 37. 
 
 V. i. 53. Ff. three and thirty; Theobald, three and twenty. 
 
 185 
 
THE FORUM AND ITS SURROUNDINGS 
 
 The Boman Forum is one of the most interesting spots in the world. 
 One need be no classical scholar to feel a thrill of genuine emotion in gazing 
 upon the mutilated fragments which crowd this small space — only about 
 five acres — that has been the scene of so much history and so much 
 glory. The Forum was at once the market, the exchange, the tribunal, and 
 the open-air place of meeting, where the destinies of the mighty Eoman 
 world were discussed and often decided. From it, roads led to the farthest 
 limits of the empire. No description can convey to the mind an adequate 
 idea of the attraction of this historic scene. 
 
 A spectator looking northward from the Temple of Castor and Pollux, 
 at the southern extremity of the Forum, can see the following buildings 
 and ruins: 
 
 Site of the Temple of Vesta. This was a circular building close under 
 the Palatine Hill. 
 
 Probable site of Caesar's house, at the foot of the Palatine and behind 
 the Temple of Vesta as viewed from the Capitol. 
 
 The earlier Eostra Julia, built 44 B. C. 
 
 The Capitol, resting on the Tabularium. 
 
 The Curia Hostilia, or Senate-house. The site is now occupied by the 
 Church of St. Adrian. It was approached from the Forum by a flight of 
 steps. 
 
 Steps leading up to the Capitol. 
 
 The Basilica Julia, built by Julius Caesar and named after his daughter 
 Julia. It was the great court of appeal. 
 
 The Temple of Castor and Pollux. The columns are Corinthian, and 
 form the most beautiful ruin in the Forum. 
 
 The Temple of Saturn, consisting now of eight Ionic columns. 
 
 The Temple of Vespasian. 
 
 The Via Sacra, a winding street leading from the top of the Palatine 
 to the top of the Capitoline Hill. Along this street Antony would "run 
 his course," and Caesar would pass from his house to the senate. 
 
 The arch of Septimius Severus, erected A. D. 205. 
 
 Site of the Temple Tomb of Caesar, a tomb built to Julius Caesar by the 
 triumvirs. This may also be the site of the rostra from which Antony 
 delivered his speech, and before which Caesar's body was burnt. 
 
 The Tabularium, upon which the modern Capitol rests. It is one of the 
 oldest architectural relics in Kome, and contained the tables of the laws. 
 
 186 
 
CAUTIONS AND HINTS FOR PARAPHRASING 
 
 1. Do not mistake the meaning of "to paraphrase. ' ' It is not to put into 
 
 other words the words of a passage, but to put into your own words 
 the meaning of that passage. 
 
 2. Eead over several times the passage to be paraphrased, and be quite sure 
 
 you have grasped the general sense before writing anything down. 
 
 3. Put nothing down that you do not know the meaning of. If you do 
 
 not understand what you write, you may be sure no one else will. 
 
 4. If you use a dictionary — to be avoided if possible — make sure that you 
 
 understand the meaning selected for any given word, and that it 
 "fits in" with your own composition. 
 
 5. It is better to write nothing than to put down unintelligible rubbish. 
 
 6. In paraphrasing poetry — or condensed prose, such as Bacon's — it is 
 
 almost always necessary to amplify in order to bring out the full 
 meaning of any given passage, i. e. your version ought generally to 
 be longer than the original. 
 
 7. Do not turn into the third person what is expressed in the text in the 
 
 first person, and especially do not change from the one to the other 
 without good reason. 
 
 8. Change the order of words or sentences as much as you please so long as 
 
 you preserve the meaning. 
 
 9. Maintain the spirit and general character of the composition as far as 
 
 possible. If you know the context of the extract, that knowledge 
 will help you to express yourself appropriately. If you do not know 
 the context, imagine a setting for the extract; this will help you to 
 make your meaning clear. 
 
 10. Do not use a greater number of words than are necessary to convey your 
 
 meaning, and use the simplest words you can to express your thought. 
 
 EXAMPLE 
 
 1. Paraphrase of the passage commencing "But 'tis a common proof,' ' 
 
 11. i. 21: 
 
 It is a matter of common experience that when a man proposes to him- 
 self to scale the heights of ambition, he at first affects humility. So long 
 as he sees before him new summits to ascend, he is grateful for the aid by 
 
 187' 
 
188 JULIUS C^SAR 
 
 which he is enabled to advance. But once he has reached the highest point 
 of his ambition, standing alone upon the lofty eminence of his vantage 
 ground, seeming to tread the sky, he scorns the steps whereby he rose. So 
 may it be in Caesar's case, and therefore we must check him ere he climbs 
 too high. And since neither his character nor his conduct has, up to the 
 present, given us any good pretext for proceeding against him, let us reason 
 thus: If he follows the usual course of such as have risen to great heights, 
 being fortified in his greatness, he will pass to such and such extremes. 
 We must, therefore, regard him as a serpent's egg, which, when hatched, 
 will be venomous and dangerous to all, and we must therefore crush him 
 while we may. 
 
QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 Shakespeare's Life 
 
 1. Write a brief biography of Shakespeare with particular reference 
 
 to the dates of chief events. 
 
 2. Quote the lines from The Merry Wives of Windsor and from 2 Henry 
 
 IV which are regarded as allusions to Shakespeare's experience with 
 Sir Thomas Lucy. 
 
 3. Who were Shakespeare's associates in his first important appearance 
 
 upon the stage in 1594? 
 
 4. Trace the direct line of Shakespeare's descendants to the extinction of 
 
 the family. 
 
 5. What conclusions, if any, have you reached regarding Shakespeare's 
 
 religion ? 
 
 6. Give in substance the reference to Shakespeare found in Fuller's 
 
 Worthies. 
 
 7. Complete the stanza by Dry den beginning 
 
 So in this Caesar which today we see. 
 
 8. Give the authors from whom Shakespeare took most of the material 
 
 for his historical plays. 
 
 9. Group Shakespeare's plays under the headings, Comedies, Tragedies, 
 
 and Chronicle Plays. 
 10. What other works besides Comedies, Tragedies, and Chronicle Plays did 
 Shakespeare write? 
 
 The Drama 
 
 1. Define drama and state its scope. 
 
 2. Name those phases of the drama which do not come under the head- 
 
 ing Comedy or Tragedy. 
 
 3. Sketch briefly the evolution of the Greek drama, and name its chief 
 
 exponents. 
 
 4. Sketch briefly the development of the Roman drama. 
 
 5. Sketch the influence of Christianity upon the drama. 
 
 6. Tell what you know of the Modern Drama down to and including 
 
 Shakespeare's time. 
 
 189 
 
190 JULIUS CMSAB 
 
 7. Compare the Elizabethan dramatic literature with that which has 
 
 been produced since then. 
 
 8. Compare the staging of the drama in Shakespeare's time with its 
 
 more modern staging. 
 
 9. How does the intelligence of theater- goers of the Elizabethan period 
 
 compare with the intelligence of present day theater-goers? 
 10. Briefly sketch the Construction of the drama. 
 
 The Tragedy Julius Ccesar 
 
 1. Tell briefly what you know about the first publication of Julius 
 
 Ccesar. 
 
 2. Give the External and Internal Evidence regarding the date of its 
 
 publication. 
 
 3. In what essential respects do Hamlet and Julius Ccesar resemble each 
 
 other? 
 
 4. Show briefly that in its composition Julius Ccesar conforms to the re- 
 
 quirements of the perfect drama. 
 
 5. How may Julius Ccesar be viewed 
 
 1. As a Political Play, 
 
 2. As a Tragedy of Character? 
 
 6. As Tragedies, how do the Roman and the English plays compare? 
 
 7. Shakespeare obtained his data for this play from Plutarch. Mention 
 
 some of his chief departures from his author's history. 
 
 8. What was the result of these departures? 
 
 9. Reply to the assertion that this play should have been named 
 
 "Brutus" instead of Julius Ccesar. 
 10. Write a brief defense of Shakespeare's action in naming this play 
 Julius Ccesar. (The form of answer must be different from that 
 given to No. 9.) 
 
 General 
 
 1. Discuss the laws of 
 
 1. Distinctiveness. 
 
 2. Contrast. 
 
 3. Consistency. 
 
 4. Effectiveness. 
 
 2. What is usually the result of Shakespeare's divergence from history in 
 
 portraying the characters of some of his dramatis personae? 
 
 3. Give in substance the advice of Coleridge, Carlyle, and Goethe to those 
 
 who would form a correct estimate of the characters of the dramatis 
 personae. 
 
QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW 191 
 
 4. Of these three critics whose advice do you consider the best? 
 
 5. Can you find among Goldsmith's works that author's estimate of 
 
 Shakespeare as a poet. 
 
 Cesar and Brutus 
 
 1. Sketch briefly Caesar's character as portrayed by Shakespeare. 
 
 2. Show by quotations from the play that Shakespeare was aware of, and 
 
 fully appreciated the greatness of Caesar's character. 
 
 3. Give a brief sketch of the character of Brutus. 
 
 4. Tell what you know of the Stoic philosophy. 
 
 5. Compare the oratory of Brutus with that of Antony. 
 
 Cassius 
 
 1. Sketch the character of Cassius as given by Shakespeare. 
 
 2. Show by a quotation from the play that Caesar mistrusted Cassius. 
 
 3. Show by Cassius' own words that he thoroughly understood the weak- 
 
 ness of human nature. 
 
 4. Show that Shakespeare has exhibited to us the better side of Cassius' 
 
 character. 
 
 5. Write a brief contrast between the characters of Brutus and Cassius. 
 
 Antony 
 
 1. Sketch the character of Antony as represented by Brutus and Cassius. 
 
 2. Give a quotation showing the high esteem in which Caesar was held 
 
 by Antony. 
 
 3. Quote the words of Cassius indicating that he dreaded the power of 
 
 Antony. 
 
 4. Quote ten lines of Antony's speech at Caesar's funeral. 
 
 5. Write a brief biography of Antony as given in history. 
 
 Octavius 
 
 1. In what light does Shakespeare represent Octavius' character? 
 
 2. Quote lines showing that Octavius imposed his will on his associates, 
 
 Antony and Lepidus. 
 
 3. How long did Octavius reign? 
 
 4. With what two great military victories is Octavius generally credited? 
 
 5. Write a brief contrast between the characters of Octavius and 
 
 Antony. 
 
 Minor Characters 
 
 1. What important official position did Lepidus occupy? 
 
 2. How did Lepidus end his career? 
 
192 JULIUS C^SAR 
 
 3. Quote the words of Brutus describing the cause and manner of 
 
 Portia's death. 
 
 4. Write a short contrast between the characters of Portia and Cal- 
 
 purnia. 
 
 5. Why was Cicero sacrificed in the proscription? 
 
 6. How do Shakespeare and history differ as to the character of Casca? 
 
 7. Who was Trebonius? 
 
 8. By whom and under what circumstances were the following lines 
 
 spoken? 
 
 I am not sick, if Brutus have in hand 
 Any exploit worthy the name of honour. 
 
 9. Why is the treachery of Decius Brutus considered so heinous? 
 
 10. Distinguish between Cornelius Cinna and Cinna the poet. 
 
 11. By whom and in reference to whom was the following spoken? 
 
 Are yet two Romans living such as they? 
 
 12. Who was Young Cato? 
 
 13. By whom and under what circumstances was the following spoken? 
 
 that's not an office for a friend. 
 
 14. Give in substance Hudson's opinion of the Citizens. 
 
 General 
 
 1. What is said to be the origin of the name Caesar? 
 
 2. Give in substance what history says of Pompey's triumph in Sep- 
 
 tember 61 b. c. 
 
 3. What great historic event took place in Rome in 60 b. c? 
 
 4. During Caesar's absence in Gaul as Pro-Consul, how did he retain his 
 
 political power in Rome? 
 
 5. What important historical event took place in January 49 b. c? 
 
 6. To whom does the following line refer? 
 
 the greatest philosopher Rome has yet produced., 
 
 7. Name the "triumphs" of Caesar and give the dates of their cele- 
 
 bration. 
 
 8. Describe the festival of the Lupercalia. 
 
 9. Give the substance of Horton's description of Caesar's assassination. 
 
 10. Why is the assassination of Caesar said to have been a political 
 
 blunder? 
 
 11. After the death of Caesar among whom was the Roman Empire 
 
 divided, and what part was assigned to each? 
 
QUESTIONS FOE REVIEW 193 
 
 12. What was the "proscription" and name some of its most eminent 
 
 victims? 
 
 13. Write a brief description of the battle of Philippi. 
 
 14. What were the effects of the battles of Philippi and of Actium 
 
 respectively ? 
 
 Act I. — Scenes I and II 
 
 1. Quote from these scenes verbal quibbles or puns. 
 
 2. Explain the allusions in the following: "as JEneas did . . . the 
 
 old Anchises bear," "walk under his huge legs," "since the great 
 flood," "he spoke Greek," "the great opinion that Eome holds of 
 his name." 
 
 3. Comment upon the grammar of the following: "will you go see," 
 
 "arrive the point proposed," "that same eye . . . did lose his 
 lustre," "under these hard conditions as this time is like to lay 
 upon us," "he plucked me ope his doublet." 
 
 4. Describe, according to these scenes, the personal appearance of Cassius 
 
 and Cicero. 
 
 5. Explain the following, quoting one line of the play in connection with 
 
 each: replication, ceremonies, pitch, ides, passions of some differ- 
 ence, jealous, falling -sickness, tardy form. 
 
 6. By what arguments does Cassius persuade Brutus to join the conspiracy. 
 
 7. Describe the offering of the crown to Csesar. How does Casca's account 
 
 reveal his own character, and how is that account received by Brutus ? 
 
 Act I. — Scene III 
 
 1. By whom, and under what circumstances, are the following words 
 
 spoken? Explain them where necessary: "they are portentous 
 things unto the climate that they point upon," "the true cause 
 . . . why birds and beasts from quality and kind," "to such a 
 man that is no fleering tell-tale," "look you lay it in the praetor's 
 chair. ' * 
 
 2. In what sense does Shakespeare use the following words: sensible, 
 
 calculate, monstrous, trash, griefs, complexions, alchemy? 
 
 3. Scan {i.e. separate the feet by a vertical line and accent the syllables 
 
 in) the following lines: 
 
 And, thus unbraced, Casca, as you see. 
 
 Our yoke and sufferance show us womanish. 
 
 Cassius from bondage will deliver Cassius. 
 
194 JULIUS (LESAK 
 
 4. What signs and portents presaged the death of Caesar? How were 
 
 they regarded by Casca and by Cicero respectively? 
 
 5. What do you know of (1) the Capitol, (2) Pompey's porch. (See 
 
 Notes.) 
 
 6. Paraphrase the ten lines commencing "But if you would consider the 
 
 true cause" (1. 62). 
 
 Act I. — General 
 
 1. Show how the first scene is connected with the subject of the play. 
 
 How are the citizens characterized? 
 
 2. Explain the following with reference to their context: 
 
 (a) When Caesar says, "Do this," it is performed. 
 
 (b) For, let the gods so speed me, as I love 
 The name of honour more than I fear death. 
 
 (c) Come on my right hand, for this ear is deaf. 
 
 (d) He was quick mettle when he went to school. 
 
 (e) This disturbed sky is not to walk in. 
 
 3. Give examples from this act of the use of (1) a noun for adjective, (2) 
 
 noun for verb, (3) ethic dative, (4) words accented in an unusual 
 manner. 
 
 4. What is the leading feature of Brutus' character? Show how Cassius 
 
 works upon it. 
 
 5. Explain ' ' run his course, ' ' " the market-place, ' ' " a man of any occu- 
 
 pation, ' ' ' ' cast yourself in wonder, ' ' " preformed faculties. ' ' 
 
 Act II. — Scene I 
 
 1. By what argument does Brutus try to justify the murder of Caesar? 
 
 2. Upon what special points does the opinion of Cassius differ from that 
 
 of Brutus? Whose opinion prevails in each case? 
 
 3. With what meanings are the following words found in this scene? 
 
 Quote a line in illustration of each: remorse, exhalations, faction, 
 fantasies^ 
 
 4. By whom and under what circumstances are the following passages 
 
 spoken ? What alternative readings have been suggested for any one 
 of them? (See Variants and Proposed Emendations.) 
 
 (a) For if thou path, thy native semblance on, 
 
 (b) It shall be said his judgment ruled our hands. 
 
 (c) All the charactery of my sad brows. 
 
 5. Discuss the grammar of the following: "where I have took them up," 
 
 "swear priests, and cowards," "look fresh and merrily," "no fig- 
 ures nor no fantasies," "dear my lord," "who's that knocks." 
 
QUESTIONS FOE EEVIEW 195 
 
 6. Give instances of anachronisms from this scene. 
 
 7. What reason does Brutus give for allowing no oath to be taken? 
 
 Act II. — Scene II 
 
 1. Contrast the character of Calpurnia with that of Portia. 
 
 2. Explain ceremonies, hurtled, blase, liable. 
 
 3. Describe the dream of Calpurnia. 
 
 4. Explain the following with reference to their context: "go bid the 
 
 priests do present sacrifice," "your wisdom is consumed in confi- 
 dence, " "it was a vision fair and fortunate," "O, I grow faint." 
 
 5. Quote passages in which Caesar speaks of himself in the third person. 
 
 Comment thereon with reference to the character of Caesar. 
 
 6. Describe the part taken by Decius Brutus in the play. 
 
 Act II. — General 
 
 1. What instances of superstition occur in this Act? 
 
 2. What do you know of Trebonius, Ligarius, Artemidorus, both from 
 
 history and from the play? (See Introduction, Characters of the 
 Play.) 
 
 3. Explain the following, giving their context: 
 
 (a) My ancestors did from the streets of Eome 
 The Tarquin drive, when he was call'd a king. 
 
 (b) He loves to hear 
 That unicorns may be betray 'd with trees. 
 
 (c) Caesar, I never stood on ceremonies. 
 
 4. Explain the following words: palter, cautelous, augurers, tinctures, 
 
 cognizance, yearns. 
 
 5. Scan the following lines, and comment upon points of interest: 
 
 (a) Our purpose necessary, and not envious. 
 
 (b) Caesar, I never stood on ceremonies. 
 
 (c) But, for your private satisfaction. 
 
 Act III. — Scene I 
 
 1. Describe the assassination of Caesar. Where did it take place (1) in 
 
 Shakespeare, (2) according to history? (See Introduction.) 
 
 2. Describe the conduct of Antony immediately after the murder of Caesar. 
 
 3. Explain the following, briefly indicating their context: "pre-ordinance 
 
 and first decree," "men are flesh and blood, and apprehensive," 
 "sign'd in thy spoil, and crimson 'd in thy lethe," "their infants 
 quarter 'd with the hands of war." 
 
196 JULIUS C^ESAB 
 
 4. Upon what conditions is Antony allowed to speak at Caesar's funeral? 
 
 5. What is there noticeable in the grammar of the following? "You are 
 
 the first that rears your hand, ' ' " nor to no Koman else, ' ' ' ' then walk 
 we forth,' ' "what, shall we forth?" "the most boldest and best 
 hearts of Borne. ' ' 
 
 6. Paraphrase the ten lines commencing ' ' I must prevent thee, Cimber. ' ' 
 
 Act III. — Scenes II and III 
 
 1. Discuss Shakespeare's representation of the common people. 
 
 2. Give in your own words the substance of Brutus' speech to the people. 
 
 How is it received? 
 
 3. Give, as far as possible in their order, without quoting, the chief points 
 
 of Mark Antony's speech. 
 
 4. How are the following words used in these scenes: lovers, extenuated, 
 
 beholding, dint, directly? 
 
 5. By whom and under what circumstances are the following passages 
 
 spoken : 
 
 (a) Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Bome more. 
 
 (b) Ingratitude, more strong than traitors' arms, 
 Quite vanquish 'd him. 
 
 (c) I dreamt to-night that I did feast with Caesar. 
 
 6. How does Shakespeare make it evident that he is not ignorant of 
 
 Caesar's true greatness? (See Introduction.) 
 
 7. Give examples from these scenes of (1) a double superlative, (2) the 
 
 unusual uses of prepositions, (3) an irregular past participle. 
 
 Act III. — General 
 
 1. Where did the incidents related in this act take place? What dramatic 
 
 advantage is gained by Shakespeare in departing from historical 
 truth? (See Introduction.) 
 
 2. Briefly contrast the speeches of Brutus and Antony, and show how the 
 
 contrast grows out of the character and motives of the speaker in 
 each case. 
 
 3. Give the context of the following passages, explaining where necessary : 
 
 (a) My misgiving still 
 Falls shrewdly to the purpose. 
 
 (b) O world! thou wast the forest to this hart. 
 
 (c) The question of his death is enrolled in the Capitol. 
 
 4. Explain: "into the law of children." (What is the reading of the 
 
 folios? See Variants and Proposed Emendations.) "untrod state," 
 ' ' cry ' Havoc, ' " "on this side Tiber, " " charge my fantasy. ' ' 
 
QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW 197 
 
 5. Quote and explain allusions to Olympus, Ate, the Lupercal, Nervii. 
 
 6. Scan the following, with necessary comments : 
 
 (a) Look, how he makes to Caesar: mark him. 
 
 (b) As fire drives out fire, so pity pity. 
 
 (c) And Brutus Antony, there were an Antony. 
 
 Act IV. — Scenes I and II 
 
 1. Give a short historical account of the events which took place be- 
 
 tween the death of Caesar and the battle of Philippi. (See Historical 
 Introduction.) 
 
 2. Give the date of the battle of Philippi, and state the number of forces 
 
 engaged. 
 
 3. Explain the passage: 
 
 One that feeds 
 On objects, arts, and imitations. 
 
 Explain also the suggested emendation : 
 
 (See Variants and Proposed Emendations.) 
 
 On abjects, orts, and imitations. 
 
 4. In what senses are the following words used in these scenes: damn, 
 
 directly, powers, resolved, instances, jades, griefs? 
 
 5. Where do the incidents of each of these scenes take place, and when? 
 
 6. Paraphrase the nine lines commencing "Ever note, Lucilius" (ii.). 
 
 Act IV. — Scene III 
 
 1. State clearly the cause or causes of the quarrel between Brutus and 
 
 Cassius. 
 
 2. What tenets of the Stoics are alluded to in this scene? How does 
 
 Brutus act up to his principles? 
 
 3. Describe the appearance of Caesar's ghost. What bearing has it upon 
 
 the title of the play? 
 
 4. Illustrate from this scene (1) Brutus' consideration for others, (2) 
 
 Cassius' habitual deference to Brutus' will. 
 
 5. Explain with reference to the context: 
 
 (a) Do what you will, dishonour shall be humour. 
 
 (b) How 'scaped I killing when I cross 'd you so? 
 
 (c) Even so great men great losses should endure. 
 
 (d) Now I have taken heart thou vanishest. 
 
 6. Give the meaning of the following words: noted, bait, rascal, humour, 
 
 jigging, ventures, Tcnave, Quote a line or part <\f a line in con- 
 nection with each. 
 
198 JULIUS C^SAR 
 
 7. Paraphrase eight lines commencing ''There is a tide in the affairs of 
 men. ' ' 
 
 Act IV. — General 
 
 1. Give an account of the quarrel between Brutus and Cassius. 
 
 2. Show that Antony and Octavius are better suited to work together 
 
 than are Brutus and Cassius. 
 
 3. What is the p?an of campaign suggested by Brutus and by Cassius 
 
 respectively? What reasons are given by each in support of his 
 proposal ? 
 
 4. Explain the following words and phrases, briefly indicating the con- 
 
 text: testy, venom of your spleen, cynic, Mils of outlawry, powers. 
 
 5. Explain any grammatical peculiarities in the following lines: 
 
 (a) Or here, or at the Capitol. 
 
 (b) And bayed about with many enemies. 
 
 (c) Nor nothing in your letters writ of her? 
 
 (d) I will not do thee so much wrong to wake thee. 
 
 6. Quote fifteen lines commencing "Come, Antony, and young Octavius, 
 
 come. ' ' 
 
 Act V. — Scenes I and II 
 
 1. How is the masterful character of Octavius revealed in these scenes? 
 
 2. Epicurus assumed for man independence of the gods and of fatality. 
 
 How is this illustrated in the play? 
 
 3. Give an account of the conversation between Brutus and Cassius on the 
 
 subject of suicide. 
 
 4. Scan the following lines: 
 
 (a) Struck Caesar on the neck. O, you flatterers! 
 
 (b) Our army lies, ready to give up the ghost. 
 
 (c) For ever, and for ever, farewell, Brutus! 
 
 5. Give the context of, and explain the allusions in, the following: 
 
 (a) But for your words, they rob the Hybla bees. 
 
 (b) Even by the rule of that philosophy 
 
 By which I did blame Cato for the death 
 Which he did give himself. 
 
 6. Explain the following words, and give derivations where you can: 
 
 exigent, peevish, canopy, bills. 
 
 7. Describe the character of Antony. (See Introduction.) 
 
 Act V. — Scenes III, IV, and V 
 
 1. What errors are committed by Brutus and his men at the battle of 
 Philippi? 
 
QUESTIONS FOE EEVIEW 199 
 
 2. Write a short note upon "The seriousness of errors in war," draw- 
 
 ing your illustrations from this play. 
 
 3. Write brief accounts of Messala, Lucilius, Flavius and Marullus, 
 
 Volumnius. 
 
 4. Describe the death of (1) Young Cato, (2) Brutus. (See Introduction.) 
 
 5. Enlarge upon this theme: 
 
 All the conspirators, save only he, 
 
 Did that they did in envy of great Csesar. 
 
 6. By whom, to whom, and under what circumstances are the following 
 
 lines spoken? Explain where necessary: 
 
 (a) In Parthia did I take thee prisoner. 
 
 (b) The sun of Eome is set! 
 
 (c) Why, now thou diest as bravely as Titinius. 
 
 7. Show how Shakespeare uses the following words, and explain them: 
 
 lights, change, success, battles, entertain, elements. 
 
 8. By whom are the two concluding speeches of the play delivered? 
 
 Write them out from memory. 
 
 9. Comment upon any peculiarities discernible in the grammar of the 
 
 following: "then I swore thee," "but hold thee, take, etc.," 
 "there is so much that thou wilt kill me straight," "that have but 
 laboured to attain this hour.' 
 
 Act V. — General 
 
 1. Give a description of the two battles of Philippi, showing clearly the 
 
 positions occupied by the several leaders. In what respects does 
 Shakespeare's description differ from that of Plutarch? 
 
 2. Explain the allusions to Hybla bees, Epicurus, Marcus Cato. 
 
 3. How does Brutus express himself over the body of Cassius? To what 
 
 extent are his words justifiable? 
 
 4. Scan the following lines: 
 
 (a) He's ta'en. [Shout.] And, hark! they shout for joy. 
 
 (b) Alas, thou hast misconstrued everything. 
 
 (c) And see whether Brutus be alive, or dead. 
 
 5. What inconsistency do you observe between the death of Brutus by 
 
 his own hand and his previously expressed opinions on the subject 
 of suicide? How may this inconsistency be explained? 
 
 6. Explain the following phrases, and give their context: "kill'st the 
 
 mother that engender 'd thee," "this is a Soman's part," "some 
 smatch of honour," "the elements so mix'd in him." 
 
200 JULIUS C^ESAE 
 
 7. Upon what occasions in the play does Shakespeare employ rhyme? 
 Show that he always has a definite purpose in so doing. 
 
 General Questions on the Play 
 
 1. Illustrate by references to the play the character of Brutus. 
 
 2. Give the context of "Let him be Caesar.' ' How does this help us to 
 
 understand the issue of the drama? 
 
 3. Give the supposed date of the composition of Julius Ccesar, and the rea- 
 
 sons which make this date probable. Mention other plays written 
 by Shakespeare about the same time. 
 
 4. Point out supposed references to the play Julius Ccesar (1) In another 
 
 of Shakespeare's plays; (2) In a contemporary author. What is 
 the probable relation in order of time between the plays Julius 
 Ccesar and Antony and Cleopatra? Give reasons for your answer. 
 What is Shakespeare's authority for the historical statements in 
 this play? 
 
 5. Describe briefly the events which immediately lead to the suicide of 
 
 Brutus and of Cassius, and show the reasons which, in their eyes, 
 justify that course. 
 
 6. Contrast the characters of Brutus and Cassius. Do you agree with 
 
 Shakespeare's view of the former (as put into the mouth of 
 Antony at the end of the play) ? Do these men act in accordance 
 with the teachings of the schools of philosophy they represent? 
 
 7. M. Guizot says: "If Brutus is the hero, Caesar is the subject of the 
 
 play." Develop this statement. 
 
 8. Mention any words which in Shakespeare's lines must have been pro- 
 
 nounced or accented differently from the way they are at present. 
 
GLOSSAEY 
 
 Abide, pay for, to stand the consequences 
 of, III. i. 94, III. ii. 125. 
 
 Abuse, evil, II. i. 18. 
 
 Accoutred, fully equipped, I. ii. 105. 
 
 Address'd, ready, prepared, III. i. 29. 
 
 Affections, feelings, II. i. 20. 
 
 Against, opposite, I. iii. 20. 
 
 Aim, the direction of a missile or of any- 
 thing compared with it, I. iii. 52. 
 
 Alchemy, the art of converting base 
 metals into gold, I. iii. 159. 
 
 An, a shortened form of "and." "If" 
 (archaic) in I. ii. 271, I. ii. 288, IV. 
 iii. 259. 
 
 Answer, to he responsible for, I. iii. 114; 
 to meet, V. i. 24. 
 
 Answered, met, safely combated, IV. i. 47. 
 
 Apparent, manifest, obvious, II. i. 198. 
 
 Apprehensive, ruled hy imagination, 
 possessing the faculty of comprehen- 
 sion, III. i. 67. 
 
 Apt, fit, ready, III. i. 160; receptive, V. 
 iii. 68. 
 
 Arts. (See Note IV. i. 37, page 170.) 
 
 Ate, the Greek goddess of vengeance, 
 III. i. 271. 
 
 Augurer, a soothsayer in ancient Rome, 
 
 II. i. 200, II. ii. 37. 
 
 Awl, a shoemaker's tool, I. i. 28. 
 
 Bait, to harass in a manner like dogs — 
 
 literally, to make bite, IV. iii. 28. 
 Basis, base (as of a statue), III. i. 115. 
 Battle, division of an army, battalion, or 
 
 it may mean an army, V. i. 4, V. i. 16, 
 
 V. iii. 108. 
 Bay, 1. Vb. intr., to bark as a dog, IV. i. 
 
 49; 2. Vb. trans., to bark at, IV. iii. 
 
 27; 3. to chase, to drive to bay, III. 
 
 i. 204. 
 Behaviours, outward conduct, I. ii. 42. 
 Beholding:, obliged, indebted; used for 
 
 the more correct form "beholden," 
 
 III. ii. 72. 
 
 Belike, probably, III. ii. 279. 
 Bend, look, glance, I. ii. 123. 
 Bills, instructions, dispatches, V. ii. 1. 
 Bird of night, the owl, I. iii. 26. 
 Bootless, unavailingly, uselessly, III. 
 i. 75. 
 
 Brand, a burning piece of wood, III. ii. 
 
 264, III. iii. 37. 
 Break with., disclose the matter to, II. 
 
 i. 150. 
 Brook, to bear, to endure, I. ii. 159. 
 Brought, escorted, I. iii. 1. 
 Budge, to give way, to flinch, IV. iii. 44. 
 By, by the side of, III. i. 162. 
 By him, near him (i. e., by his house), 
 
 II. i. 218. 
 
 Call in question, discuss, IV. iii. 165. 
 
 Canopy, a covering, V. i. 88. 
 
 Capitol, the citadel of ancient Rome. 
 See Notes, Act. I. i. 73, and I. iii. 36. 
 
 Carrions, decaying carcasses, worthless 
 creatures, II. i. 130. 
 
 Cause, affair, V. i. 48. 
 
 Cautelous, false, deceitful, not to be 
 trusted, II. i. 129. 
 
 Censure, to judge, estimate, III. ii. 16. 
 
 Ceremony, outward rite, I. ii. 11; any 
 thing, or observance held sacred, used 
 (a) of festal ornaments hung on 
 Csssar's images, and (b) of signs, 
 prodigies, and the like superstitions, 
 I. i. 70, II. i. 197, II. ii. 13. 
 
 Chafe, to fret, fume, I. ii. 101. 
 
 Change, tit-for-tat, exchange, V. iii. 51. 
 
 Charactery, writing, II. i. 308. 
 
 Charge, to load, to burden, III. iii. 2; 
 expense, cost, IV. i. 9; military post 
 or command; hence troops under a 
 person's command, IV. ii. 48; (the 
 attack itself, V. i. 24). 
 
 Charm, conjure, cast a spell upon, II. 
 i. 271. 
 
 Cheer, cheerfulness, courage, III. i. 89. 
 
 Chew, to grind with the teeth; hence, to 
 ruminate, meditate, ponder, I. ii. 171. 
 
 Chopt or Chapped, rent and cracked 
 with toil or age; "chap" is the later 
 form of "chop," I. ii. 247. 
 
 Clean from, quite away from, quite con- 
 trary to, I. iii. 35. 
 
 Climate, district, country, I. iii. 32. 
 
 Close, agree, III. i. 202. 
 
 Cobbler, a clumsy mender, a botcher, I. 
 i. 11. 
 
 Cognizance, that by which something is 
 
 201 
 
202 
 
 JULIUS CESAR 
 
 known, proved, or remembered; in 
 heraldry, a badge, II. ii. 89. 
 
 Colour, plausible appearance, II. i. 29. 
 
 Come by, get possession of, II. i. 169. 
 
 Common pulpits, those in the forum 
 from which the orators addressed the 
 people, III. i. 80. 
 
 Companion, you fellow, IV. iii. 138. 
 
 Compass, circular course, V. iii. 25. 
 
 Complexion, external appearance, par- 
 ticularly when expressive of some nat- 
 ural disposition, I. iii. 128. 
 
 Conceit, to form an idea of, to judge of, 
 
 1. iii. 162, III. i. 192. 
 Condition, disposition, II. i. 254. 
 Constancy, firmness, II. iv. 6. 
 Content, self-contained, calm, IV. ii. 41. 
 Contrive, to devise, plot, conspire, II. 
 
 iii. 15. 
 Counter, a round piece of metal used for 
 
 counting, IV. iii. 80. 
 Courtesy, a kind of reverence made by 
 
 men as well as by women, III. i. 36, 
 
 III. i. 43. 
 Covert, secret, disguised, IV. i. 46. 
 Credit, repute, estimation, III. i. 191. 
 Cull, to select, to pick, I. i. 59. 
 Cynic, a rude man, IV. iii. 133. 
 
 Dank, damp, moist, II. i. 263. 
 -Dearer, more intensely, more deeply, 
 -"'III. i. 196. 
 
 Defiance, challenge to fight, V. i. 64. 
 Degree, a step or round of a staircase or 
 
 ladder, II. i. 26. 
 Dew, 1. moisture precipitated by the 
 
 cooling of the atmosphere, V. iii. 64; 
 
 2. used of things refreshing and 
 beneficent, II. i. 230. 
 
 Dint, impression, III. ii. 204. 
 
 Directly, in a straight line, IV. i. 32; 
 just, exactly, I. ii. 3; without am- 
 biguity, straightforwardly, imme- 
 diately, I. i. 14, III. iii. 16, III. iii. 21. 
 
 Distract, beside oneself, desperate, IV. 
 iii. 155. 
 
 Doomsday, the day of the last and uni- 
 versal judgment, III. i. 97. 
 
 Doublet, probably an undergarment, I. 
 ii. 270. 
 
 Drachma, an ancient Greek coin worth 
 about nineteen cents, III. ii. 251, IV. 
 iii. 73. 
 
 Drizzle, to shed in small, slow drops, II. 
 ii. 21. 
 
 Element, aspect of the sky, I. iii. 128. 
 Emulation, jealousy, envious contention, 
 II. iii. 14. 
 
 Enforce, magnified, exaggerated, III 
 
 ii. 45. 
 Enfranchisement, 1. release from prison 
 
 or slavery, III. i. 81; repeal from 
 
 exile, restoration to public rights, III 
 
 i. 57. 
 Enlarge, to express fully, to speak freely 
 
 of, IV. ii. 46. 
 Entertain, to take into one's service V 
 
 v. 60. 
 Envious, malicious, II. i. 178, III. ii. 185. 
 Eternal, used to express extreme abhor- 
 rence, I. ii. 160. 
 Even, unsullied, II. i. 133. 
 Exhalation, a bright phenomenon, a 
 
 meteor, II. i. 44. 
 Exigent, exigency, pressing necessity, 
 
 V. i. 19. 
 Extenuate, to undervalue, detract from 
 
 III. ii. 43. 
 
 Factious, active in organizing a party, 
 
 I. iii. 118. 
 Fain, gladly, willingly, I. ii. 241. 
 Fall, befall or happen, III. i. 243; used 
 
 actively in the sense of "lower," IV 
 
 ii. 26. 
 Falling n sickness, epilepsy, I. ii. 260. 
 False, out of tune, IV. iii. 292. 
 Fantasy, imagination, III. iii. 2, II. i. 
 
 197; mental image, conceit, II. i. 231. 
 Fatal, foreboding mischief and death, V 
 
 i. 88. 
 Favour, appearance, I. ii. 91. 
 Fear, cause of fear, II. i. 190. 
 Fell, fierce, cruel, III. i. 269. 
 Fleer, to make a wry face, to grin, I. 
 
 iii. 117. 
 Fool, act like fools, I. iii. 65. 
 Fond, foolish, III. i. 39. 
 Formal, well-regulated, II. i. 227. 
 Former, foremost, front, V. i. 80. 
 Forms, benches, III. ii. 268. 
 Forth, go forth, III. i. 119. 
 Fret, mark with ornamental lines, inter- 
 lace, II. i. 104. 
 From, different from, II. i. 196; away 
 
 from, III. ii. 175; contrary to, I. iii. 
 
 64. 
 
 General, general public, community, II. 
 
 i. 12. 
 Genius, inborn faculty, reasonable part 
 
 of the soul, II. i. 66. 
 Gentle, noble, as in our "gentleman," II. 
 
 i. 171. 
 Grace, honor, III. ii. 64. 
 Growing, encroaching, II. i. 107. 
 
GLOSSAEY 
 
 203 
 
 Hands, handwritings, I. ii. 325. 
 
 Handywork, workmanship, I. i. 33. 
 
 Havoc, indiscriminate slaughter, de- 
 struction, III. i. 273. 
 
 Hearse, a coffin on a bier, III. ii. 175. 
 
 Heavy, weighed down with care, II. i. 
 275. 
 
 Hedge, hamper, restrain, IV. iii. 30. 
 
 Hie, to make haste, I. iii. 150, V. iii. 78. 
 
 Hind, female of the stag, I. iii. 106. 
 
 Humour, wheedle, I. ii. 324. 
 
 Humours, moisture, II. i. 262. 
 
 Hurtle, to jostle, meet noisily in shock 
 and conflict, II. ii. 22. 
 
 Ides, the 15th day of March, May, July, 
 October, 13th of other months in the 
 Roman calendar, I. ii. 18, 19, 23; II. 
 i. 40; III. i. 1; IV. iii. 18; V. i. 114. 
 
 Idle, vain, empty, futile, IV. iii. 68. 
 
 Incense, to instigate, provoke, I. iii. 13. 
 
 Indifferently, impartially, without inter- 
 est, I. ii. 87. 
 
 Indirection, wrong, dishonest practice, 
 IV. iii. 75. 
 
 Instances, familiar attentions, IV. ii. 
 16. 
 
 Insuppressive, insuppressible, not to be 
 kept down, II. i. 134. 
 
 Interim, intervening time, interval, II. 
 i. 64. 
 
 Intermit, to suspend, interrupt, I. i. 64. 
 
 Issue, deed, result of the action, III. i. 
 294. 
 
 Jades, sorry nags, worthless, or mal- 
 treated horses, IV. ii. 26. 
 
 Jealous, suspicious in any way, I. ii. 71; 
 suspiciously fearful, doubtful, I. ii. 
 162. 
 
 Jigging, singing in the tune of a jig; 
 composing jigs or doggerel rhymes, 
 IV. iii. 137. 
 
 Just, true, so, I. ii. 54. 
 
 Keep, bide, live with, II. i. 284. 
 
 Kerchief, a cloth to cover the head, II. 
 i. 315. 
 
 Kind, sort, race, class, II. i. 33. 
 
 Knave, a boy, a servant — term of ad- 
 dress used in friendly intercourse, IV. 
 iii. 242, IV. iii. 270. 
 
 Laugher, buffoon, jester, I. ii. 72. 
 
 Law of children, puerility, childishness, 
 
 III. i. 39. 
 Let blood, slain, III. i. 152. 
 Lethe, death, III. i. 206. 
 
 Lief, lit. dear. "I had as lief — I should 
 like as much"; followed by an inf. 
 without "to," I. ii. 95. 
 
 Limitations, restrictions, II. i. 283. 
 
 Loath, unwilling, averse, I. ii. 243. 
 
 Lottery, chance, II. i. 119. 
 
 Mace, a club of metal used as an em- 
 blem of authority, IV. iii. 269. 
 
 Main, strong, firm, II. i. 196. 
 
 Mar, to injure, spoil, ruin, III. ii. 207. 
 
 Marry, indeed, forsooth, I. ii. 229. 
 
 Mart, to traffic, trade, IV. iii. 11. 
 
 Merely, entirely, altogether, I. ii. 39. 
 
 Mettle or Metal, constitutional dispo- 
 sition, character, temper, I. i. 71, I. 
 ii. 318; a fiery temper; ardor, high 
 courage, II. i. 134, IV. ii. 24. 
 
 Misgiving, fear, III. i. 145. 
 
 Mo, Moe, more in number, II. i. 72; V. 
 iii. 101. 
 
 Mortal, rational spirits, II. i. 66. 
 
 Motion, impulse, II. i. 64. 
 
 Napkin, a handkerchief, III. ii. 144. 
 Naughty, bad, good for nothing, I. i. 18. 
 Neat, horned cattle, an ox, I. i. 32. 
 Nice, petty, insignificant, IV. iii. 8. 
 Niggard, to supply sparingly, IV. iii. 
 
 229. 
 Note, to set a mark on; in an ill sense — 
 
 to dishonor or stigmatize, IV. iii. 2. 
 
 Observe, pay court to, look up to, IV. 
 iii. 45. 
 
 Objects, anything that can be recog- 
 nized by the senses, IV. i. 37. 
 
 O'er-watch'd, tired out with watching, 
 IV. iii. 242. 
 
 Offal, waste meat, refuse, I. iii. 109. 
 
 Offence, harm, IV. iii. 201. 
 
 Orchard, a garden, III. ii. 257. 
 
 Order, course, III. i. 230. 
 
 Palter, to shift, shuffle, equivocate, II. i. 
 126. 
 
 Passion, real feelings, I. ii. 48. 
 
 Path, walk abroad, II. i. 83. 
 
 Peevish, silly, childish, V. i. 61. 
 
 Phantasma, a vision, day-dream, II. 
 i. 65. 
 
 Physical, wholesome, salutary, medic- 
 inal, II. i. 261. 
 
 Pitch, height; a term used in falconry, 
 I. i. 78. 
 
 Pitiful, compassionate, III. i. 169. 
 
 Portent, omen of ill, II. ii. 80. 
 
 Prefer, present, lay before, III. i. 27. 
 
 Preformed, predestined, I. iii. 67. 
 
204 
 
 JULIUS C^SAE 
 
 Pre-ordinance, a rule previously estab- 
 lished, III. i. 38. 
 
 Present, immediate, II. ii. 5. 
 
 Prevent, to forestall, II. i. 28. 
 
 Prevention, detection, II. i. 85; frustra- 
 tion of plans by being anticipated, 
 III. i. 19. 
 
 Proceeded, happened, I. ii. 181. 
 
 Prodigious, portentous, I. iii. 28. 
 
 Prodigy, portent, II. i. 198. 
 
 Produce, bring out, exhibit, III. i. 228. 
 
 Profess myself, make professions of af- 
 fection, I. ii. 77. 
 
 Promised forth, engaged out, I. ii. 298. 
 
 Proof, experience, II. i. 21. 
 
 Proper, (one's) very own, V. iii. 96; pe- 
 culiar to, I. ii. 41; fine, handsome — 
 used of men, I. i. 32. 
 
 Property, tool, IV. i. 40. 
 
 Proscription, dooming to death without 
 legal proceeding, IV. iii. 173, IV. iii. 
 180. 
 
 Protester, one who insists upon, I. ii. 74. 
 
 Provender, dry food for beasts, IV. i. 30. 
 
 Put on, feel, I. iii. 60; assume, II. i. 225. 
 
 Quality, nature, I. iii. 68. 
 
 Quarrel, cause of complaint, II. i. 2S. 
 
 Quick, lively, I. ii. 29, I. ii. 305. 
 
 Bank, sick, diseased from excessive 
 
 growth, III. i. 152. 
 Rascal, mean, good for nothing, IV. 
 
 iii. 80. 
 Rears, raise, III. i. 30. 
 Remorse, pity, II. i. 19. 
 Repeal, to recall from exile, III. i. 51. 
 Replication, reverberation, echo, I. i. 56. 
 Resolved, satisfied, III. i. 131, III. ii. 
 
 189, IV. ii. 14. 
 Retentive, restraining, checking, I. 
 
 iii. 95. 
 Rheumy, causing cold, II. i. 266. 
 Rive, to split, cleave, rend, I. iii. 8, IV. 
 
 iii. 84. 
 Rout, noisy company, mob, I. ii. 78. 
 Rude, barbarous, III. ii. 34. 
 
 Sad, serious, I. ii. 218. 
 
 Saucy, impudent, insolent, I. iii. 12, IV. 
 
 iii. 134. 
 Saving of, sparing, V. iii. 38. 
 Scandal, abuse, slander, I. ii. 76. 
 Schedule, a piece of paper written on, 
 
 III. i. 3. 
 Search, pierce, probe, V. iii. 42. 
 Sennet, a signal — call on a trumpet, I. 
 
 ii. 24. 
 Served, attended to, III. i. 8. 
 
 Show, demonstration, I. ii. 34. 
 
 Shrewdly, in a high degree, lit. mis- 
 chievously, maliciously, III. i. 146. 
 
 Sign, to mark, set a stamp on, III. i. 205. 
 
 Sirrah, a form of address used toward 
 inferior persons, IV. iii. 134, V. iii. 36. 
 
 Slighted off, treated with contempt, IV. 
 iii. 5. 
 
 Smatch, smack, taste, tincture, V. v. 46. 
 
 Sort, station or rank, I. i. 67. 
 
 Spare, thin, lean, I. ii. 201. 
 
 Speed, make prosperous, help, I. ii. 88. 
 
 Spleen, fit of passion, IV. iii. 47. 
 
 Spoil, plundering, V. iii. 7, destruction, 
 havoc, III. i. 207. 
 
 Stale, to render stale, make worthless, 
 I. ii. 73. 
 
 Stand upon, attach importance to, con- 
 cern oneself with, III. i. 100. 
 
 Stare, stand on end, bristle, IV. iii. 281. 
 
 Stomach, inclination, disposition, V. 
 i. 66. 
 
 Strain, family, race, V. i. 59. 
 
 Strucken, struck or stricken, III. i. 210. 
 
 Subtle, artful, dissembling, II. i. 175. 
 
 Suburbs, outskirts, II. i. 285. 
 
 Success, result (not necessarily prosper- 
 ous), II. ii. 6, V. iii. 66. 
 
 Sway, steady-moving, I. iii. 3. 
 
 Swayed, governed, II. i. 20. 
 
 Swounded, swooned, I. ii. 251. 
 
 Tag-rag, rabble; a "tag" is anything 
 
 "tacked," i. e., attached, I. ii. 262. 
 Tardy, slothful, I. ii. 308. 
 Tending to, indicating, I. ii. 327, III. ii. 
 
 65. 
 Testy, easily angered, fretful, IV. iii. 45. 
 Thews, muscles, sinews, I. iii. 81. 
 Thought, anxiety, grief, II. i. 187. 
 Thorough, through, III. i. 136, V. i. 110. 
 Thunder-stone, thunderbolt, I. iii. 48. 
 Tide, alternate ebb and flow of the sea, 
 
 IV. iii. 219; metaphorically, denoting 
 
 a regular course and progress, III. i. 
 
 256. 
 Time, full period, limit, V. i. 106. 
 Toil, a net, snare, II. i. 206. 
 Trash, worthless matter, dross, IV. iii. 
 
 26, IV. iii. 74. 
 Trophy, a sign and token of victory, I. 
 
 i. 79. 
 
 UnbraeSd, unclosed, unfastened, unbut- 
 toned, I. iii. 48. 
 Undergo, undertake, I. iii. 123. 
 Underling, vassal, serf, I. ii. 141. 
 Unlucky, foreboding, III. iii. 2. 
 Unmeritable, worthless. IV. i. 12. 
 
GLOSSAEY 
 
 205 
 
 Voice, vote, III. i. 177. 
 
 Void, empty, not occupied, II. iv. 37. 
 
 Vouchsafe, to grant in condescension, 
 
 III. i. 130; to accept, II. i. 313. 
 Vulgar, the common people, I. i. 80. 
 
 Wafture, waving, II. i. 246. 
 
 Warn, summon, challenge, V. i. 5. 
 
 Weighing, taking in consideration, II. 
 i. 108. 
 
 Well-given, well-disposed, I. ii. 197. 
 
 Wench, a woman; not always deroga- 
 tory, as at present, I. ii. 278. 
 
 Whiles, when, since, if, I. ii. 209. 
 
 Wind, wheel, IV. i. 32. 
 
 Woe the while, alas for the present age! 
 
 I. iii. 82. 
 Wrangle, to argue vehemently, quarrel, 
 
 IV. ii. 45. 
 Wrong, harm, III. i. 242. 
 
 Yearn, to grieve, II. ii. 129. 
 
 Yoke, servitude, bondage, I. ii. 61, I. 
 
 iii. 84. 
 Yond, that, I. ii. 194. 
 

 
 
 
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