All. We'll mutiny.

1 Citizen.

We'll burn the house of Brutus.

3 Citizen. Away, then! seek the conspirators.

Come, firebrands! To Brutus', to Cassius'; burn all! Some to Decius' house, and some to Casca's! Away, go!

[Exeunt all but Antony.]

Antony. Now let it work. Mischief, thou art afoot.

[Curtain.]

ACT IV

A camp near Sardis.1 Brutus's tent

Brutus 2 is standing [R.] before the tent door.

Cassius enters [L.]. 3

Cassius. Most noble brother, you have done me wrong.
Brutus. Judge me, you gods! wrong I mine enemies?
And, if not so, how should I wrong a brother?

Cassius. Brutus, this sober form of yours hides wrongs;
And when you do them

Brutus.

Cassius, be content;

Speak your griefs softly; I do know you well.

Cassius. That you have wronged me doth appear in this:
You have condemned and punished Lucius Pella

For taking bribes here of the Sardians;

Wherein my letters, praying on his side,

Because I knew the man, were slighted off,

Brutus.

You wronged yourself to write in such a case.

1 Sardis (sär'dis).

2 Brutus. Brutus is much worried, and looks to right and left. A soldier (Lucilius) may bring a letter to him, and be sent by him with other scrolls, before the arrival of Cassius.

3 It will add to the picture, and also to the atmosphere of war to have Lucius on guard at Brutus' tent door, and to have Titinius enter with Cassius and remain outside the tent door on guard with Lucius.

Cassius. In such a time as this it is not meet

That every nice offence should bear its comment.1
Brutus. Let me tell you, Cassius, you yourself
Are much condemned to have 2 an itching palm,
To sell and mart your offices for gold

You know that you are Brutus that speak this,
Or, by the gods, this speech were else your last.
Brutus. The name of Cassius honors this corruption,
And Chastisement doth therefore hide its head.

Brutus. Remember March, the ides of March 3 remember:
Did not great Julius bleed for justice' sake?
What villain touched 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 honors
For so much trash as may be grasped thus?
I had rather be a dog, and bay the moon,
Than such a Roman.

Cassius.

Brutus, bait not me;

I'll not endure it. You forget yourself,

To hedge me in. I am a soldier, I,
Older in practice, abler than yourself
To make conditions.1

Brutus.

Go to; you are not, Cassius.

1 it is not meet that every nice offence should bear its comment: it is not advisable that every petty irregularity should be commented upon. 2 condemned to have: accused of having.

3 ides (īdz) of March: the 15th of March.

4abler... to make conditions: better able to judge the terms on which offices should be conferred.

Cassius. I am.

Brutus. I say you are not.

Cassius. Urge me no more, I shall forget myself;
Have mind upon your health, tempt me no farther.
Brutus. Away, slight man!

Cassius. Is't possible?

Brutus.

Hear me, for I will speak.

Must I give way and room to your rash anger?

Shall I be frighted when a madman stares?

Cassius. O ye gods, ye gods! must I endure all this?

Brutus. All this! ay, more. Fret till your proud heart break.

You say you are a better soldier:1

Let it appear so; make your vaunting true,

And it shall please me well. For mine own part,

I shall be glad to learn of noble men.

Cassius. You wrong me every way; you wrong me, Brutus;

I said an elder soldier, not a better.

Did I say "better"?

Brutus. If you did, I care not.

Cassius. Do not presume too much upon my love;

I may do that I shall be sorry for.

Brutus. You have done that you should be sorry for.
There is no terror, Cassius, in your threats,

For I am armed so strong in honesty

That they pass by me as the idle wind,

Which I respect not. I did send to you

For certain sums of gold, which you denied me;
For I can raise no money by vile means.

By heaven, I had rather coin my heart,

And drop my blood for drachmas,2 than to wring

1 a better soldier. The fact is Cassius had proved himself such; it is equally true he did not say that he was a better soldier. However, he can feel that Brutus has defeated him on the whole moral question of his actions, and he feels crushed.

2 drachma (drăk’mä): an ancient Greek, silver coin.

From the hard hands of peasants their vile trash

By any indirection.1 I did send

To you for gold to pay my legions,

Which you denied me. Was that done like Cassius?
When Marcus Brutus grows so covetous,

Be ready, gods, with all your thunderbolts;

Dash him to pieces!

Cassius.

Brutus. You did.

Cassius. I did not.

My answer back.

I denied you not.2

He was but a fool that brought
O, I could weep

My spirit from mine eyes! There is my dagger,
And here my naked breast; within, a heart
Dearer than Plutus'3 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 Cæsar; for, I know,

When thou didst hate him worst, thou lov'dst him better
Than ever thou lov'dst Cassius.

Brutus.

Sheathe your dagger.

Be angry when you will, it shall have scope;
Do what you will, dishonor shall be humor.4
O Cassius, you are yokéd with a lamb
That carries anger as the flint bears fire;
Which, much enforcéd, shows a hasty spark,
And straight is cold again.

Cassius.

Hath Cassius lived

To be but mirth and laughter to his Brutus,

When grief and blood ill-tempered vexeth him?

1 indirection: crooked dealing.

2 I denied you not. Cassius did send a third of what was asked, and no doubt defended himself on the ground that Brutus could get the rest by the same means to which he had thought it necessary to resort himself. 3 Plutus' (ploo'tus): Pluto's. Pluto was the ruler of the underworld and controlled all the gold of the earth.

4 humor: caprice.

Brutus. When I spoke that, I was ill-tempered too.
Cassius. Do you confess so much? Give me your hand.
Brutus. And my heart too. O Cassius, I am sick

From many griefs. Portia is dead.

Cassius. Ha! Your wife?

Brutus. She is dead.

Cassius. How 'scaped I killing when I crossed you so?

O insupportable and touching loss!

Brutus. I have the patience to endure it now.
Cassius. Even so great men great losses should endure.
I have as much of this in art1 as you,

But yet my nature could not bear it so.

Brutus. Well, to our work alive. What do you think
Of marching to Philippi 2 presently?3

Cassius. I do not think it good.

Brutus.

Cassius.

Your reason?

This it is:

'Tis better that the enemy seek us.

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

Are full of rest, defence, and nimbleness.

Brutus. Good reasons must, of force, give place to better.
The people 'twixt Philippi and this ground

Do stand but in a forced affection,
For they have grudged us contribution.
The enemy, marching along by them,
By them shall make a fuller number up,

1art: skill to show externally. The reader will already have noted this. Cassius is surely the more alert of the two, both to arouse emotion and thus guide a conversation, when that seems possible, and also to realize that he must give in when Brutus cannot and will not see his point. It was owing to this brilliant quality in Cassius that the two generals did not come to a final rupture in this scene and part company, to fall an easy prey to their enemies.

2

Philippi (fl-lip'i): in European Turkey.

3 presently: at once.

4 offence: harm.