SCENE III. A street near the Capitol.

Enter ARTEMIDORUS, reading a paper.

Art. "Cæsar, beware of Brutus; take heed of Cassius; come not near Casca; have an eye to Cinna; trust not Trebonius; mark well Metellus Cimber; Decius Brutus loves thee not; thou hast wrong'd Caius Ligarius. There is but one mind in all these men, and it is bent against Cæsar. If thou beest not immortal, look about you; security gives way to conspiracy. 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.3

If thou read this, O Cæsar, thou mayst live;
If not, the fates with traitors do contrive.1

11

Bru. What said Popilius Lena?

Cass. He wish'd to-day our enterprise might

thrive.

I fear our purpose is discovered.

[Casca crosses behind to Cassius, and Decius to Casca. Bru. Look, how he makes to Cæsar; mark him. Cass. Casca, be sudden, for we fear prevention.Brutus, what shall be done? If this be known, Cassius or Cæsar never shall turn back,1 For I will slay myself.

Bru.

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[Popilius kisses Cæsar's hand.
Cassius, be constant:

Popilius Lena speaks not of our purposes;
For, look, he smiles, and Cæsar doth not change.2
Cass. Trebonius knows his time; for, look
you, Brutus,

He draws Mark Antony out of the way.
[Antony and Trebonius cross behind
state chair and exeunt.

Dec. [Crosses to Brutus] Where is Metellus Cimber? Let him go

And presently prefer his suit to Cæsar.

[Metellus advances to Cæsar's chair. Bru. He is address'd:3 press near and second him.

Cinna. Casca, you are the first that rears your hand.

Casca. Are we all ready?

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Of whose true-fix'd and resting quality
There is no fellow in the firmament.
The skies are painted with unnumber'd sparks;
They are all fire, and every one doth shine;
But there's but one in all doth hold his place:
So, in the world; 't is furnish'd well with men,
And men are flesh and blood, and apprehen-

sive;8

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Yet, in the number, I do know but one
That unassailable holds on his rank,
Unshak'd of motion: and that I am he,
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.
Cinna. [Kneeling] O Cæsar!---

Cæs. Hence! wilt thou lift up Olympus?
Dec. [Kneeling] Great Cæsar,-
Cæs.

Doth not Brutus bootless kneel?

Repealing, recalling (from exile).

7 Pray to move, resort to prayers in order to move others.

8 Apprehensive, endowed with apprehension, intelligent.

Casca. Speak, hands, for me. [Metellus lays hold on Cæsar's robe;-Casca

stabs Cæsar in the neck. Cæsar catches hold of his arm. He then is stabbed by several other Conspirators, and at last by Marcus Brutus.

Cas. Et tu, Brute!'-Then, fall, Cæsar. [Falls dead at the foot of Pompey's statue. The Senators and People retire in confusion.

[Cinna. Liberty! Freedom! Tyranny is dead!

Run hence, proclaim, cry it about the streets. Cass. Some to the common pulpits, and cry

Treb. Fled to his house amaz'd. Men, wives, and children stare, cry out, and run, As it were doomsday.

Bru. Fates! we will know your pleasures:That we shall die, we know; 't is but the time, And drawing days out, that men stand upon. Casca. Why, he that cuts off twenty years of life

Cuts off so many years of fearing death.

1 Et tu, Brute! And thou, Brutus!

* Good cheer, be of good cheer, be not alarmed.
3 Abide, answer for.

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Bru. Grant that, and then is death a benefit; So are we Cæsar's friends, that have abridg'd 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 forth, even to the market-place, And, waving our red weapons o'er our heads, Let's all cry, "Peace! Freedom! and Liberty!" Cass. [Stoop, then, and wash.-] How many ages hence

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Who else must be let blood, who else is rank;5 If I myself, there is no hour so fit

As Cæsar's death's hour, nor no instrument Of half that worth as those your swords, made rich

With the most noble blood of all this world. I do beseech ye, if you bear me hard,6 [Now, whilst your purpled hands do reek and smoke,]

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Fulfil your pleasure. Live a thousand years,
I shall not find myself so apt to die;
No place will please me so, no mean of death,
As here by Cæsar and by you cut off,
The choice and master spirits of this age.

Bru. O Antony! beg not your death of us.
Though now we must appear bloody and cruel,
As, by our hands and this our present act,
You see we do, yet see you but our hands
And this the bleeding business they have done:
Our hearts you see not: they are pitiful; 169
And pity to the general wrong of Rome-
As fire drives out fire, so pity pity-
Hath done this deed on Cæsar. For your part,

Sign'd 12 in thy spoil and crimson'd in thy lethe.13

8 Deliver, declare to. 9 Conceit, conceive, consider. 10 Dearer, more intensely. 11 Bay'd, brought to bay. 12 Sign'd, marked, stained.

13 Lethe, metaphorically for flowing blood.