16

20

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 28
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

24

32

Which hatch'd, would, as his kind, grow mischievous, And kill him in the shell.

Enter Lucius.

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

15 Crown him that; cf. n.

20 affections: passions
26 degrees: steps, rungs
28 prevent: be beforehand

29 colour: justification

36

40

19 Remorse: mercy, conscience
21 proof: proved experience

quarrel: attack on him, accusation
30 Fashion: put, formulate

31 these and these: such and such

33 as his kind: as is the nature of his species

35 closet: study

Luc. I will, sir.

Bru. The exhalations whizzing in the air Give so much light that I may read by them.

Exit.

44

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.

48

'Shall Rome, &c.' Thus must I piece it out: Shall Rome stand under one man's awe? Rome?

What,

52

My ancestors did from the streets of Rome

The Tarquin drive, when he was call'd a king. 'Speak, strike, redress!' Am I entreated

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!

Enter Lucius.

Luc. Sir, March is wasted fourteen days.

56

59

Knocking within.

Bru. 'Tis good. Go to the gate: somebody knocks.

[Exit Lucius.]

Since Cassius first did whet me against Cæsar,
I have not slept.

Between the acting of a dreadful thing
And the first motion, all the interim is
Like a phantasma, or a hideous dream:
The genius and the mortal instruments

44 exhalations: meteors

58 Thy full petition: full measure of what thou askest 59 fourteen; cf. n. 61, 62 Cf. n.

64

64 motion: instigation, inception

65 phantasma: vision, phantasmagoria
66 genius: the guardian spirit, within man
man faculties

mortal instruments: hu

Are then in council; and the state of man,
Like to a little kingdom, suffers then
The nature of an insurrection.

Enter Lucius.

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

Bru.

Is he alone?

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

Bru.

68

Do you know them? 72

Luc. No, sir; their hats are pluck'd about their

ears,

And half their faces buried in their cloaks,

That by no means I may discover them

By any mark of favour.

Bru.

Let 'em enter.

They are the faction. O conspiracy,

76

[Exit Lucius.]

Sham'st thou to show thy dangerous brow by night, When evils are most free? O then by day

Where wilt thou find a cavern dark enough

80

To mask thy monstrous visage? Seek none, con

spiracy;

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.

84

Enter the Conspirators, Cassius, Casca, Decius, Cinna, Metellus, and Trebonius.

70 brother: he had married Brutus' sister, Junia

72 moe: more, others

76 mark of favour: trait of countenance

77 faction: band of conspirators

83 path: walk, proceed native: natural

84 Erebus: gloomy region leading to Hades (the name signifies

'darkness')

on: being on

85 prevention: being forestalled

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.
Know I these men that come along with you?

Cas. Yes, every man of them; and no man here
But honours you; and every one doth wish
You had but that opinion of yourself
Which every noble Roman bears of you.
This is Trebonius.

What watchful cares do interpose themselves

Betwixt your eyes and night?

Cas. Shall I entreat a word?

88

92

96

100

[Brutus and Cassius] whisper.

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

here?

Casca. No.

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

deceiv'd.

that you are

104 both

108

Here, as I point my sword, the sun arises;
Which is a great way growing on the south,
Weighing the youthful season of the year.
Some two months hence up higher toward the north
He first presents his fire; and the high east
Stands, as the Capitol, directly here.

86 bold: i.e., in intruding 104 fret: chequer

107 growing on: tending toward

90 and no: and there is no 106 as: where 108 Weighing: on account of

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,

112

116

Till each man drop by lottery. 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, 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,

124

That this shall 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,

128

132

Nor th' insuppressive mettle 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

112 all over: successively

114 face of men: mute appeal in the people's looks 115 sufferance: suffering, distress

time

118 high-sighted: haughty

123 What: why

126 palter: play fast and loose

the

136

abuse: abuses of the 116 betimes: before it's too late 119 lottery: arbitrary decree

125 Than secret: than that of resolute

129 cautelous: crafty, deceitful

130 carrions: wretches no better than soulless carcasses

suffering: 133 even: just

135 or . . . or: either ... or

138 Is individually condemned as illegitimate