Fare you well. There was more foolery yet, if I could remember it.
Cas. Will you sup with me to-night, Casca?
Casca. No, I am promised forth.
Cas. Will you dine with me to-morrow?
Cas. A very pleasing night to honest men.
Casca. Who ever knew the heavens menace so?
Cas. Those that have known the earth so full of
faults.
For my part, I have walk'd about the streets,
Casca. Ay, if I be alive, and your mind hold, and Submitting me unto the perilous night;
your dinner worth the eating.
Cas. Good: I will expect you. Casca. Do so: Farewell, both.
Bru. What a blunt fellow is this grown to be! He was quick mettle, when he went to school.
Cas. So is he now, in execution
Of any bold or noble enterprise,
However he puts on this tardy form.
This rudeness is a sauce to his good wit,
Which gives men stomach to digest his words
With better appetite.
Bru. And so it is. 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 with me, and I will wait for you.
Cas. I will do so :-till then, think of the world.
[Exit Brutus.
Well, Brutus, thou art noble; yet, I see,
Thy honourable metal may be wrought
From that it is dispos'd: Therefore 'tis meet
That noble minds keep ever with their likes:
For who so firm, that cannot be seduc'd?
Cæsar doth bear me hard; but he loves Brutus :
If I were Brutus now, and he were Cassius,
He should not humour me. I will this night,
In several hands, in at his windows throw,
As if they came from several citizens,
Writings, all tending to the great opinion
That Rome holds of his name; wherein obscurely
Cæsar's ambition shall be glanced at:
And, after this, let Cæsar seat him sure;
For we will shake him, or worse days endure.
[Exit. SCENE III. The same. A Street. Thunder and Lightning. Enter, from opposite Sides, Casca, with his Sword drawn, and Cicero. Cic. Good even, Casca: Brought you Cæsar home? Why are you breathless? and why stare you so? Casca. Are not you mov'd, when all the sway of Shakes like a thing unfirm? O Cicero,
I have seen tempests, when the scolding winds
Have riv'd the knotty oaks; and I have seen
The ambitious ocean swell, and rage, and foam,
To be exalted with the threat'ning clouds:
But never till to-night, never till now,
Did I go through a tempest dropping fire.
Either there is a civil strife in heaven;
Or else the world, too saucy with the gods,
Incenses them to send destruction.
Cic. Why, saw you any thing more wonderful? Casca. A common slave (you know him well by sight),
Held up his left hand, which did flame, and burn
Like twenty torches join'd; and yet his hand,
Not sensible of fire, remain'd unscorch'd.
Besides (I have not since put up my sword),
Against the Capitol I met a lion,
Who glar'd upon me, and went surly by
Without annoying me: And there were drawn
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,
Hooting, and shrieking. When these prodigies
Do so conjointly meet, let mot men say,
These are their reasons,-They are natural;
For, I believe, they are portentous things
Unto the climate that they point upon.
Cic. Indeed, it is a strange-disposed time:
Bat men may construe things after their fashion,
Clean from the purpose of the things themselves..
Comes Cæsar 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 disturbed sky
Is not to walk in.
Casca.
Farewell, Cicero. [Exit Cicero.
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And, thus unbraced, Casca, as you see,
Have bar'd my bosom to the thunder-stone:
And, when the cross blue lightning seem'd to open
The breast of heaven, I did present myself
Even in the aim and very flash of it.
Casca. But wherefore did you so much tempt the
heavens ?
It is the part of inen 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,
Aud put on fear, and cast yourself in wonder,
To see the strange impatience of the heavens:
But if you would consider the true cause,
Why all these fires, why all these gliding ghosts,
Why birds, and beasts, from quality and kind;
Why old men, fools, and children calculate;
Why all these things change, from their ordinance,
Their natures, and pre-formed faculties,
To monstrous quality; why, you shall find,
That heaven bath infus'd them with these spirits,
To make them instruments of fear and warning,
Unto some monstrous state. Now could I, Casca,
Name to thee a man most like this dreadful night;
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 grown,
And fearful, as these strange eruptions are.
Casca. 'Tis Cæsar that you mean: Is it not, Cassius?
Cas. Let it be who it is for Romans now
Have thewes and limbs, like to their ancestors;
But, woe the while! our fathers' minds are dead,
And we are govern'd with our mothers' spirits;
Our yoke and sufferance show us womanish.
Casca. Indeed, they say, the senators to-morrow Mean to establish Caesar as a king: And he shall wear his crown by sea, and land, In every place, save here in Italy.
Cas. I know where I will wear this dagger then;
Cassius from bondage will deliver Cassius:
Therein, ye gods, you make the weak most strong;
Therein, ye gods, you tyrants do defeat:
Nor stony tower, nor walls of beaten brass,
Nor airless dungeon, nor strong links of iron,
Can be retentive to the strength of spirit;
But life, being weary of these worldly bars,
Never lacks power to dismiss itself.
That part of tyranny that I do bear,
If I know this, know all the world besides,
I can shake off at pleasure..
Casca.
So can I :
So every bond man in his own hand bears
The power to cancel his captivity.
Cas. And why should Cæsar be a tyrant then?
Poor man! I know, he would not be a wolf,
But that he sees, the Romans are but sheep:
He were no lion, were not Romans hinds.
Those that with haste will make a mighty fire,
Begin it with weak straws: What trash is Rome,
What rubbish, and what offal, when it serves.
For the base matter to illuminate
So vile a thing as Cresar? But, O grief!
Where hast thou led me? I, perhaps, speak this
Before a willing bondman: then I know
My answer must be made: But I am arm'd,
And dangers are to me indifferent.
Casca. You speak to Casca; and to such a man,
That is no fleering tell-tale. Hold my hand:
Be factious for redress of all these griefs;
And I will set this foot of mine as far,
As who goes farthest.
Cas.
There's a bargain made.
Now know you, Casca, I have mov'd already
Some certain of the noblest-minded Romans,
To undergo, with me, an enterprise
Of honourable-dangerous consequence;
And I do know, by this, they stay for me
In Pompey's porch: for now, this fearful night,
There is no stir, or walking in the streets;
And the complexion of the element
Is favour'd, like the work we have in hand,
Most bloody, fiery, and most terrible.
Casca. Stand close awhile, for here comes one in haste.
Cas. "Tis Cinna, I do know him by his gait; He is a friend.-Cinna, where haste you so? Cin. To find out you: Who's that? Metellus CimCas. No, it is Casca; one incorporate To our attempts. Am I not staid for, Cinna? Cin. I am glad on't. What a fearful night is this? There's two or three of us have seen strange sights. Cas. Am I not staid for, Cinna? Tell me. Cin. You are. O Cassius, if you could but win The noble Brutus to our party
Cas. Be you content: Good Cinna, take this paper, And look you lay it in the prætor's chair, Where Brutus may but find it; and throw this In at his window set this up with wax Upon old Brutus' statue: all this done, Repair to Pompey's porch, where you shall find us. Is Decius Brutus, and Trebonius, there?
Cin. All but Metellus Cimber; and he's gone To seek you at your house. Well, I will hie, And so bestow these papers as you bade me. Cas. That done, repair to Pompey's theatre. Come, Casca, you and I will, yet, ere day, See Brutus at his house: three parts of him Is ours already: and the man entire, Upon the next encounter, yields him ours, Casca. O, he sits high, in all the people's hearts: And that, which would appear offence in us, His countenance, like richest alchymy, Will change to virtue, and to worthiness.
Luc. I will, sir. Bru. The exhalations, whizzing in the air, Give so much light, that I may read by them. [Opens the Letter, and reads. Brutus, thou sleep'st; awake, and see thyself. Shall Rome, &c. Speak, strike, redress! Brutus, thou sleep'st; awake, Such instigations have been often dropp'd Where I have took them up.
Shall Rome, &c. Thus, must I piece it out;
ShallRome stand under one man's awe? What! Rome?
My ancestors did from the streets of Rome
The Tarquin drive, when he was call'd a king.
Speak, strike, redress!-Am I entreated then
To speak, and strike? O Rome! I make thee promise,
If the redress will follow, thou receivest
Thy full petition at the hand of Brutus.
Re-enter Lucius.
Luc. Sir, March is wasted fourteen days,
[Knock within. Bru. 'Tis good. Go to the gate; somebody knocks. [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, all the interim is
Like a phantasma, or a hideous dream:
The genius and the mortal instruments,
Are then in council, and the state of man,
Like to a little kingdom, suffers then
The nature of an insurrection.
Cas. Him, and his worth, and our great need of him, Who doth desire to see you.
You have right well conceited. Let us go,
For it is after midnight; and, ere day,
We will awake him, and be sure of him. [Exeunt.
SCENE I. The same. Brutus' Orchard.
Enter Brutus.
Bru. What, Lucius, ho!
I cannot, by the progress of the stars,
Give guess how near to day. Lucius, I say!-
I would it were my fault to sleep so soundly.-
When, Lucius, when? Awake, I say: What, Lucius !
Enter Lucius.
Luc. Call'd you, my lord?
Bru. Get me a taper in my study, Lucius: When it is lighted, come and call me here. Luc. I will, my lord.
Bru. It must be by his death: and, for my part, I know no personal cause to spurn at him, But for the general. He would be crown'd:How that might change his nature, there's the
Luc. Sir, 'tis your brother Cassius at the door, Bru. Is he alone? Luc. No, sir, there are more with him. Bru. Do you know them? Luc. No, sir; their hats are pluck'd about their And half their faces buried in their cloaks, [ears, That by no means I may discover them By any mark of favour."
Let them enter. [Exit Lucius.
They are the faction. O conspiracy!
Sham'st thou to show thy dangerous brow by night,
When evils ere most free? O, then, by day,
Where wilt thou find a cavern dark enough
To mask thy monstrous visage? Seek none, conspi-
Hide it in smiles, and affability:
For if thou path, thy native semblance on,
Not Erebus itself were dim enough
To hide thee from prevention.
Enter Cassius, Casca, Decius, Cinna, Metellus
Cimber, and Trebonius.
Cas. I think, we are too bold upon your rest:
Good morrow, Brutus: Do we trouble you?
Bru. I have been up this hour; awake, all night.
ques-Know I these men, that come along with you!
Cas. Yes, every man of them; and no man here,
But honours you: and every one doth wish,
Which every noble Roman bears of you.
You had but that opinion of yourself,
It is the bright day, that brings forth the adder;
And that craves wary walking. Crown him?-That;
And then, I grant, we put a sting in him,
That at his will he may do danger with.
The abuse of greatness, is when it disjoins
Remorse from power: And, to speak truth of Cæsar,
I have not known when his affections sway'd
More than his reason. But 'tis a common proof,
That lowliness is young ambition's ladder,
Whereto the climber-upward 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
By which he did ascend: So Cæsar may;
Then, lest he may, prevent. And, since the quarrel
Will bear no colour for the thing he is,
Fashion it thus; that what he is, augmented,
Would run to these, and these extremities:
And therefore think him as a serpent's egg,
Which, hatch'd, would, as his kind, grow mischievous;
And kill him in the shell.
Luc. The taper burneth in your closet, sir. Searching the window for a flint, I found This paper, thus seal'd up; and, I am sure, It did not lie there, when I went to bed. Bru. Get you to bed again, it is not day. Is not to-morrow, boy, the ides of March? Luc. I know not, sir,
Bru. Look in the calendar, and bring me word.
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Cin. O, pardon, sir, it doth; and yon gray lines, That fret the clouds, are messengers of day.
Casca. You shall confess, that you are both deceiv'd.
Here, as I point my sword, the sun arises;
Weighing the youthful season of the year.
Which is a great way growing on the south,
Some two months hence, up higher toward the north
He first presents his fire; and the high east
Stands, as the Capitol, directly here."
Bru. Give me your hands all over, one by one.
Cas. And let us swear our resolution.
Bru. No, not an oath: If not the face of men, The sufferance of our souls, the time's abuse,If these be motives weak, break off betimes, And every man hence to his idle bed; So let high-sighted tyranny range on,
Till each man drop by lottery. But if these,
As I am sure they do, bear fire enough
To kindle cowards, and to steel with valour
The melting spirits of women; then, countrymen,
What need we any spur, but our own cause,
To prick us to redress? what other bond,
Than secret Romans, that have spoke the word,
And will not palter? and what other oath,
Than honesty to honesty engag'd,
That this shail be, or we will fall for it?
Swear priests, and cowards, and men cautelous,
Old feeble carrions, and such suffering souls
That welcome wrongs; unto bad causes swear
Such creatures as men doubt; but do not stain
The even virtue of our enterprise,
Nor the insuppressive metal of our spirits,
To, think, that, or our cause, or our performance,
Did need an oath; when every drop of blood,
That every Roman bears, and nobly bears,
Is guilty of a several bastardy,
If he do break the smallest particle
Of any promise that hath pass'd from him.
Cas. But what of Cicero? Shall we sound him?
I think he will stand very strong with us.
Casca. Let us not leave him out.
Cin.
No, by no means.
Met. O, let us have him; for his silver hairs
Will purchase us a good opinion,
And buy men's voices to commend our deeds:
It shall be said, his judgment rul'd our hands;
Our youths, and wildness, shall no wit appear,
But all be buried in his gravity.
Bru. O, name him not; let us not break with him;
For he will never follow any thing
That other men begin.
Casca. Indeed, he is not fit.
Dec. Shall no man else be touch'd, but only Cæsar?
Cas. Decius, well urg'd:-I think, it is not meet,
Mark Antony, so well belov'd of Cæsar,
Should outlive Cesar: We shall find of him
A shrewd contriver; and, you know, his means,
If he improves them, may well stretch so far,
As to annoy us all which to prevent,
Let Antony and Cæsar, fall together.
Bru. Our course will seem too bloody, Caius
To cut the head off, and then hack the limbs:
Like wrath in death, and envy afterwards:
For Antony is but a limb of Cæsar.
Let us be sacrificers, but no butchers, Caius.
We all stand up against the spirit of Cæsar;
And in the spirit of men there is no blood:
O, that we then could come by Caesar's spirit,
And not dismember Cæsar! But, alas,
Cæsar must bleed for it! And, gentle friends,
Let's kill him boldly, but not wrathfully;
Let's carve him as a dish fit for the gods,
Not hew him as a carcass tit for hounds:
And let our hearts, as subtle masters do,
Stir up their servants to an act of rage,
That unicorns may be betray'd with trees,
And bears with glasses, elephants with holes,
Lions with toils, and men with flatterers :
But, when I tell him, he hates flatterers,
He says, he does; being then most flattered.
Let me work:
For I can give his humour the true bent;
And I will bring him to the Capitol.
Cas. Nay, we will all of us be there to fetch him.
Bru. By the eighth hour: Is that the uttermost?
Cin. Be that the uttermost, and fail not then.
Met. Caius Ligarius doth bear Caesar hard,
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:
He loves me well, and I have given him reasons;
Send him but hither, and I'll fashion hiar.
Cas. The morning comes upon us: We'll leave
you, Brutus:-
And, friends, disperse yourselves: but all remember
What you have said, and show yourselves true Romans.
Bru. Good gentlemen, look fresh and merrily;
Let not our looks put on our purposes;
But bear it as our Roman actors do,
With untir'd spirits, and formal constancy :
And so good morrow to you every one..
[Exeunt all but Brutus.
Boy! Lucius!-Fast asleep? It is no matter;
Enjoy the honey-heavy dew of slumber :
Thou hast no figures, nor no fantasies,
Which busy care draws in the brains of men ;
Therefore thou sleep'st so sound.
Brutus, my lord!
Bru. Portia, what mean you? Wherefore rise yon
It is not for your health, thus to commit [now ?
Your weak condition to the raw-cold morning.
Por. Nor for yours neither. You have ungently,
Brutus,
Stole from my bed. And yesternight, at supper,
You suddenly arose, and walk'd about,
Musing and sighing, with your arms across;
And when I ask 'd you what the matter was,
You star'd upon me with ungentle looks:
Cas-I urg'd you further then you scratch'd your head,
And too impatiently stamp'd with your foot:
Yet I insisted, yet you answer'd not;
But, with an angry wafture of your hand,
Gave sign for me to leave you: So I did;
Fearing to strengthen that impatience,
Which seem'd too much enkindled; and, withal,
Hoping it was but an effect of humour,
Which sometime hath his hour with every man.
It will not let you eat, nor talk, nor sleep;
And, could it work so much upon your shape,
As it hath much prevail'd on your condition,
I should not know you, Brutus. Dear, my lord,
Make me acquainted with your cause of grief.
Bru. I am not well in health, and that is all.
Por. Brutus is wise; and were he not in health,
He would embrace the means to come by it.
Bru. Why, so I do:-Good Portia, go to bed.
Por. Is Brutus sick? and is it physical
To walk unbraced, and suck up the humours
Of the dank morning? What, is Brutus sick;
And will he steal out of his wholesome bed,
To dare the vile contagion of the night?
And tempt the rheumy and unpurged air,
To add unto his sickness? No, my Brutus;
You have some sick offence within your mind,
Which, by the right and virtue of my place,
I ought to know of: And, upon my knees,
I charm you, by my once-commended beauty,
By all your vows of love, and that great vow
Which did incorporate and make us one,
[Clock strikes.That you unfold to me, yourself, your half,
Why you are heavy; and what men to-night
Have had resort to you for here have been
Some six or seven, who did hide their faces
Even from darkness.
And after seem to chide them. This shall make
Our purpose necessary, and not envious:
Which so appearing to the common eyes,
We shall be call'd purgers, not murderers.
And for Mark Antony, think not of him;
For he can do no more than Cæsar's arm,
When Cæsar's head is off.
Cas.
Yet I do fear him:
For in the ingrafted love he bears to Cæsar,
Bru. Alas, good Cassius, do not think of him:
If he love Cæsar, all that he can do
Is to himself: take thought, and die for Cesar:
And that were much he should; 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.
Bru. Peace, count the clock.
Cas.
The clock hath stricken three.
Treb. "Tis time to part.
Cas.
But it is doubtful yet,
Whe'r Cæsar will come forth to-day, or no
For he is superstitious grown of late;
Quite from the main opinion he held once
Of fantasy, of dreams, and ceremonies:
It may be, these apparent prodigies,
The unaccustom'd terror of this night,
And the persuasion of his augurers,
May bold him from the Capitol to-day.
Dec. Never fear that: If he be so resolv'd,
I can o'ersway him: for he loves to hear,
Kneel not, gentle Portia.
Por. I should not need, if you were gentle Brutus.
Within the bond of marriage, tell me, Brutus,
Is it excepted, I should know no secrets
That appertain to you? Am I yourself,
But, as it were, in sort, or limitation;
To keep with you at meals, comfort your bed,
And talk to you sometimes? Dwell I but in the suburbs
Of your good pleasure! If it be no more,
Portia is Brutus' harlot, not his wife.
Tell me your counsels, I will not disclose them:
I have made strong proof of my constancy,
Giving myself a voluntary wound
Here, in the thigh: Can I bear that with patience,
And not my husband's secrets?
Bru.
Render me worthy of this noble wife!
Hark, hark! one knocks: Portia, go in awhile;
And by-and-by thy bosom shall partake
The secrets of my heart.
All my engagements I will construe to thee,
All the charactery of my sad brows:-
Leave me with haste.
[Exit Portia.
Enter Lucius and Ligarius.
Lucius, who is that, knocks?
Luc. Here is a sick man, that would speak with you.
Bru. Caius Ligarius, that Metellus spake of.-
Boy, stand aside.-Caius Ligarius! how?
Lg. Vouchsafe good morrow from a feeble tongne.
Bru. O, what a time have you chose out, brave
Caius,
To wear a kerchief? 'Would you were not sick!
Lig. I am not sick, if Brutus have in hand
Any exploit worthy the name of honour.
Bru. Such an exploit have I in hand, Ligarius,
Had you a healthful ear to hear of it.
Lig. By all the gods that Romans bow before,
I here discard my sickness. Soul of Rome!
Brave son deriv'd from honourable loins!
Thou, like an exorcist, hast conjur'd up
My mortified spirit. Now bid me run,
And I will strive with things impossible;
Yea, get the better of them. What's to do?
Bru. A piece of work, that will make sick men
whole.
Lsick?
Lig. But are not some whole, that we must make
Bru. That must we also. What it is, my Caius,
I shall unfold to thee, as we are going
To whom it must be done.
Set on your foot;
And, with a heart new fir'd, I follow you,
To do I know not what: but it sufficeth,
That Brutus leads me on.
Bru.
Follow me then. [Exeunt.
SCENE II. The same.
A Room in Cæsar's Palace.
Thunder and Lightning. Enter Cæsar, in his
Night-gown.
Cæs. Nor heaven, nor earth, have been at peace
to-night:
Thrice hath Calphurnia in her sleep cried out,
Help, ho! they murder Caesar! Who's within?
Cas. Go bid the priests do present sacrifice, And bring me their opinions of success.
What can be avoided,
Whose end is purpos'd by the mighty gods?
Yet Cæsar shall go forth: for these predictions
Are to the world in general, as to Cæsar.
Cal. When beggars die, there are no comets seen;
The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of
princes.
Caes. Cowards die many times before their deaths;
The valiant never taste of death but once.
Of all the wonders that I yet have heard,
It seems to me most strange that men should fear;
Seeing that death, a necessary end,
Will come, when it will come.
What say the augurers?
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.
Ces. The gods do this in shame of cowardice:
Cesar should be a beast without a heart,
If he should stay at home to-day for fear.
No; Cæsar shall not: Danger knows full well,
That Cæsar is more dangerous than he.
We were two lions litter'd in one day,
And I the elder and more terrible;
And Cæsar shall go forth.
Cal.
Alas, my lord,
Your wisdom is consum'd in confidence.
That keeps you in the house, and not your own.
Do not go forth to-day: Call it my fear,
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.
Caes. Mark Antony shall say, I am not well;
And, for thy humour, I will stay at home.
Enter Decius.
Here's Decius Brutus, he shall tell them so.
Dec. Cæsar, all hail! Good morrow, worthy Cæsar :
I come to fetch you the senate-house.
Cas. Aud you are come in very happy time,
To bear my greeting to the senators,
And tell them, that I will not come to-day:
Cannot, is false: and that I dare not, falser;
I will not come to-day: Tell them so, Decius.
Cal. Say, he is sick.
Cæs.
Shall Cæsar send a lie?
Have I in conquest stretch'd mine arm so far,
To be afeard to tell gray-beards the truth?
Decius, go tell them; Cæsar will not come.
Dec. Most mighty Casar, let me know some cause;
Lest I be laugh'd at, when I tell them so.
Ces. 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 yon, I will let you know.
Calphurnia here, my wife, stays me at home:
She dreamt to-night she saw my statua,
Which like a fountain with a hundred spouts,
Did run pure blood: and many lusty Romans
Came smiling, and did bathe their hands in it.
And these does she apply for warnings, portents,
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 many pipes,
In which so many smiling Romans bath'd,
Signifies, that from you great Rome shall suck
Reviving blood; and that great men shal! press
Cal. What mean you, Caesar? Think you to walk For tinctures, stains, relics, and cognizance.
You shall not stir out of your house to-day.
[me,
Cas. Cæsar shall forth: The things that threaten'd
Ne'er look'd but on my back; when they shall see
The face of Cæsar, they are vanished.
Cal. Cæsar, I never stood on ceremonies,
Yet now they fright me. There is one within,
Besides the things that we have heard and seen,
Recounts most horrid sights seen by the watch.
A lioness hath whelped in the streets;
And graves have yawn'd, and yielded up their dead;
Fierce fiery warriors fight upon the clouds,
In ranks, and squadrons, and right form of war,
Which drizzled blood upon the Capitol:
The noise of battle hurtled in the air,
Horses did neigh, and dying men did groan;
And ghosts did shriek, and squeal about the streets.
O Cæsar! these things are beyond all use,
And I do fear them.
This by Calphurnia's dream is signified.
Cas. And this way have you well expounded it.
Dec. I have, when you have heard what I can say:
And know it now; The senate have concluded
To give this day a crown to mighty Cæsar.
If you shall send them word, you will not come,
Their minds may change. Besides, it were a mock
Apt to be render'd, for some one to say,
Break up the senate till another time,
When Caesar's wife shall meet with better dreams.
If Cæsar hide himself, shall they not whisper,
Lo, Cesar is afraid?
Pardon me, Cæsar: for my dear, dear love
To your proceeding bids me tell you this;
And reason to my love is liable.
Caes. How foolish do your fears seem now, Cal-
phurnia ?
I am ashamed I did yield to them.-
Give me my robe, for I will go :-
Enter Publius, Brutus, Ligarius, Metellus, Casca,
Trebonius, and Cinna.
And look where Publius is come to fetch me.
Puh. Good morrow, Cæsar.
Cæs.
Por. Why, know'st thou any harm's intended towards him? [may chance. Sooth. None that I know will be, much that I fear Good morrow to you. Here the street is narrow :
Welcome, Publius.-The throng that follows Cæsar at the heels,
What, Brutus, are you stirr'd so early too?
Good morrow, Casca.-Caius Ligarius,
Cæsar was ne'er so much your enemy,
As that same ague which hath made you lean.-
What is't o'clock ?
Cæsar, 'tis strucken eight. Cæs. I thank you for your pains and courtesy.
See! Antony, that revels long o'nights,
Is notwithstanding up :
Good morrow, Antony.
So to most noble Cæsar.
Cas. Bid them prepare within:-
I am to blame to be thus waited for.-
Now, Cinna :-Now, Metellus:-What, Trebonius!
I have an hour's talk in store for you;
Remember that you call on me, to-day.
Be near me, that I may remember you.
Treb. Cæsar, I will:-and so near will I be, [Aside.
That your best friends will wish I had been further.
Caes. Good friends, go in, and taste some wine.
with me;
And we, like friends, will straightway go together.
Bru. That every like is not the same, O Cæsar,
The heart of Brutus yearns to think upon! [Exeunt.
SCENE III. The same. A Street near the Capitol.
Of senators, of prætors, common suitors,
Will crowd a feeble man almost to death:
I'll get me to a place more void, and there
Speak to great Cesar as he comes along.
Por. I must go in.-Ah me! how weak a thing
The heart of woman is! O Brutus !
The heavens speed thee in thine enterprise !
Sure, the boy heard me :-Brutus hath a suit,
That Cæsar will not grant.-0, 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.
ACT III.
SCENE I. The same. The Capitol; the Senate
sitting.
A Crowd of People in the Street leading to the Capi-
tol; among them Artemidorus and the Soothsayer.
Flourish. Enter Cæsar, Brutus, Cassius, Casca,
Decius, Metellus, Trebonius, Cinna, Antony, Le-
pidus, Popilius, Publius, and others.
Cas. The ides of March are come.
Sooth. Ay, Cesar; but not gone.
Art. Hail, Cæsar! Read this schedule.
Dec. Trebonius doth desire you to o'er-read,
At your best leisure, this his humble suit.
Art. O, Cæsar, read mine first; for mine's a suit
Cas-That touches Cæsar nearer: read it, great Cæsar.
Caes. What touches us ourself, shall be last serv'd.
Art. Delay not, Cæsar; read it instantly.
Ces. What, is the fellow mad?
Enter Artemidorus, reading a Paper.
Art. Cæsar, beware of Brutus; take heed of
sius; come not near Casca; have an eye on Cinna;
trust not Trebonius; mark' well Metellus Cimber;
Decius Brutus loves thee not; thou hast wronged
Caius Ligarius. There is but one mind in all these
men, and it is bent against Cæsar. If thou be'st not
immortal, look about you: Security gives way to con-
spiracy. The mighty gods defend thee! Thy lover,
ARTEMIDORUS.
Here will I stand, till Cæsar pass along,
And as a suitor will I give him this.
My heart laments, that virtue cannot live
Out of the teeth of emulation.
If thou read this, O Cæsar, thou may'st live;
If not, the fates with traitors do contrive.
Madam, what should I do?
Run to the Capitol, and nothing else?
And so return to you, and nothing else?
Por. Yes, bring me word, boy, if thy lord look well,
For he went sickly forth: And take good note,
What Cæsar doth, what suitors press to him.
Hark, boy what noise is that?
Luc. I hear none, madam.
Por.
Pub.
Sirrah, give place.
Cas. What, urge you your petitions in the street?
Come to the Capitol.
[Cæsar enters the Capitol, the rest following.
All the Senators rise.
Pop. I wish, your enterprise to-day may thrive.
Cas. What enterprise, Popilius?
Fare you well. [Advances to Cæs.
Bru. What said Popilius Lena?
Cas. He wish'd, to-day our enterprise might thrive.
I fear, our purpose is discovered.
Bru. Look, how he makes to Cæsar: Mark him.
Cas. Casca, be sudden, for we fear prevention.-
Brutus, what shall be done? If this be known,
Cassius or Cæsar never shall turn back,
For I will slay myself.
Popilius Lena speaks not of our purposes;
For, look, he smiles, and Cæsar doth not change.
Cas. Trebonius knows his time; for, look you,
He draws Mark Antony out of the way.
[Exeunt Antony and Trebonius. Cæsar and
the Senators take their Seats.
Dec. Where is Metellus Cimber? Let him go,
And presently prefer his suit to Cæsar.
Bru. He is address'd press near, and second him.
Cin. Casca, you are the first that rears your band.
Cæs. Are we all ready? what is now amiss,
That Cæsar, and his senate, must redress?
Metellus Cimber throws before thy seat
Met. Most high, most mighty, and most puissant
[Cæsar,
[Kneeling.
Cæs.
I must prevent thee, Cimber.
These couches, and these lowly courtesies,
Might fire the blood of ordinary men;
Pr'ythee, listen well; And turn pre-ordinance, and first decree,
I heard a bustling rumour, like a fray.
And the wind brings it from the Capitol.
Luc. Sooth, madam, I hear nothing.
Enter 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 Cæsar, hast thou not?
Sooth. That I have, lady: if it will please Cæsar
To be so good to Cæsar, as to hear me,
I shall beseech him to befriend himself.
Into the law of children. Be not fond,
To think that Cæsar bears such rebel blood,
That will be thaw'd from the true quality
With that which melteth fools; I mean, sweet words,
Low-crooked curt'sies, and base spaniel fawning.
Thy brother by decree is banish'd;
If thou dost bend, and pray, and fawn, for him,
I spurn thee like a cur out of my way.
Know, Cesar doth not wrong; nor without cause
Will he be satisfied.
Met. Is there no voice more worthy than my own,
To sound more sweetly in great Caesar's ear,
For the repealing of my banish'd brother?
Bru. I kiss thy hand, but not in flattery, Cresar;
Desiring thee, that Publius Cimber may
Have an immediate freedom of repeal.
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