Strike, as thou didst at Cæsar; for, I know, better Than ever thou lov'dst Cassius. BRU. Sheath your dagger: Be angry when you will, it shall have scope; Do what you will, dishonour shall be humour. O Cassius, you are yoked with a lamb That carries anger, as the flint bears fire; Who, much enforced, shows a hasty spark, And straight is cold again. Hath Cassius liv'd CAS. To be but mirth and laughter to his Brutus, When grief, and blood ill-temper'd, vexeth him? 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. BRU. O Brutus ! What's the matter? CAS. Have you not love enough to bear with me, When that rash humour, which my mother gave me, Makes me forgetful? BRU. Yes, Cassius; and, from henceforth 2, When you are over-earnest with your Brutus, He'll think your mother chides, and leave you so. [Noise within. POET. [Within.] Let me go in to see the gene rals; 2 - and, HENCEFORTH,] Old copy, redundantly in respect both of sense and measure:-" and from henceforth." But the present omission is countenanced by many passages in our author, besides the following in Macbeth: 3 66 66 Thanes and kinsmen, Henceforth be earls." STEEVEns. chides,] i. e. is clamorous, scolds. So, in As You Like It; “For what had he to do to chide at me?" STEEVENS, There is some grudge between them, 'tis not meet They be alone. Luc. [Within.] You shall not come to them. POET. [Within.] Nothing but death shall stay me. Enter Poet1. CAS. How now? What's the matter? POET. For shame, you generals; What do you mean? Love, and be friends, as two such men should be ; CAS. Ha, ha; how vilely doth this cynick rhyme! time: What should the wars do with these jigging fools"? Companion, hence". 4 Enter Poet.] Shakspeare found the present incident in Plutarch. The intruder, however, was Marcus Phaonius, who had been a friend and follower of Cato; not a poet, but one who assumed the character of a cynick philosopher. STEEVENS. 5 Love, and be friends, as two such men should be; For I have seen more years, I am sure, than ye.] This passage is a translation from the following one in the first book of Homer: 66 ̓Αλλὰ πίθεσθ'. ἄμφω δὲ νεωτέρω ἐτὸν εμεῖο : which is thus given in Sir Thomas North's Plutarch : My lords, I pray you hearken both to me, "For I have seen more years than such ye three.” See also Antony's speech, p. 108: 66 Octavius, I have seen more days than you." Again, in Chapman's Iliad, book ix. : "I am his greater, being a king, and more in yeares than he." STEEVENS. 6 What should the wars do with these JIGGING fools?] i. e. with these silly poets. A jig signified, in our author's time, a metrical composition, as well as a dance. So, in the prologue to Fletcher's Fair Maid of the Inn: "A jig shall be clapp'd at, and every rhyme CAS. Away, away, be gone. [Exit Poet. Enter LUCILIUS and TITINIUS. BRU. Lucilius and Titinius, bid the commanders Prepare to lodge their companies to-night. ČAS. And come yourselves, and bring Messala with you Immediately to us. [Exeunt LUCILIUS and TITINIUS. Lucius, a bowl of wine. Cas. I did not think, you could have been so BRU. angry. [See note on Hamlet, Act II. Sc. II. vol. vii. p. 308.] A modern editor, (Mr. Capell,) who, after having devoted the greater part of his life to the study of old books, appears to have been extremely ignorant of ancient English literature, not knowing this, for jigging, reads (after Mr. Pope,) jingling. His work exhibits above Nine Hundred alterations of the genuine text, equally capricious and unwarrantable. This editor, of whom it was justly said by the late Bishop of Glocester, that "he had hung himself in chains over our poet's grave," having boasted in his preface, that "his emendations of the text were at least equal in number to those of all the other editors and commentators put together," I some years ago had the curiosity to look into his volumes with this particular view. On examination I then found, that, of three hundred and twentyfive emendations of the ancient copies, which, as I then thought, he had properly received into his text, two hundred and eighty-five were suggested by some former editor or commentator, and forty only by himself. But on a second and more rigorous examination I now find, that of the emendations properly adopted, (the number of which appears to be much smaller than that above mentioned,) he has a claim to not more than fifteen. The innovations and arbitrary alterations, either adopted from others, or first introduced by this editor, from ignorance of our ancient customs and phraseology, amount to no less a number than nine hundred and seventy-two! It is highly probable that many yet have escaped my notice. MALONE. 7 COMPANION, hence.] Companion is used as a term of reproach in many of the old plays; as we say at present-fellow. So, in King Henry IV. Dol Tearsheet says to Pistol : 66 I scorn you, scurvy companion," &c. STEEVENS. BRU. O Cassius, I am sick of many griefs. CAS. Of your philosophy you make no use, If you give place to accidental evils. BRU. No man bears sorrow better:-Portia is dead. CAS. Ha! Portia ? BRU. She is dead. CAS. How scap'd I killing, when I cross'd you so? O insupportable and touching loss ! Upon what sickness ? BRU. 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, 8 And, her attendants absent, swallow'd fire.] This circumstance is taken from Plutarch. It is also mentioned by Val. Maximus, iv. 6. It cannot, however, be amiss to remark, that the death of Portia may want that foundation which has hitherto entitled her to a place in poetry, as a pattern of Roman fortitude. She is reported, by Pliny, I think, to have died at Rome of a lingering illness while Brutus was abroad; but some writers seem to look on a natural death as a derogation from a distinguished character. STEEVENS. Valerius Maximus says that Portia survived Brutus, and killed herself on hearing that her husband was defeated and slain at Philippi. Plutarch's account in The Life of Brutus is as follows: "And for Portia, Brutus' wife, Nicolaus the philosopher, and Valerius Maximus, doe wryte, that she determining to kill her selfe, (her parents and friends carefullie looking to her to kepe her from it,) tooke hotte burning coles, and cast them into her mouth, and kept her mouth so close, that she choked her selfe. -There was a letter of Brutus found, wrytten to his frendes, complaining of their negligence; that his wife being sicke, they would not helpe her, but suffered her to kill herselfe, choosing to dye rather than to languish in paine. Thus it appeareth that Nicolaus knew not well that time, sith the letter (at least if it were Brutus' letter,) doth plainly declare the disease and love of this lady, and the manner of her death." North's Translation. CAS. And died so? BRU. Even so. CAS. O ye immortal gods?! 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 :Fill, Lucius, till the wine o'erswell the cup; I cannot drink too much of Brutus' love. [Drinks. Re-enter TITINIUS, with MESSALA. BRU. Come in, Titinius :-Welcome, good Mes sala. Now sit we close about this taper here, And call in question our necessities. BRU. No more, I pray you. Messala, I have here received letters, See also Martial, lib. i. ep. 42. Valerius Maximus, and Nicolaus, and Plutarch, all agree in saying that she put an end to her life; and the letter, if authentick, ascertains that she did so in the life-time of Brutus. Our author, therefore, we see, had sufficient authority for his representation; and there is, I think, little ground for supposing with Dryden that Shakspeare knew that Portia had survived Brutus, and that he, "on purpose neglected a little chronology, only to give Brutus an occasion of being more easily exasperated." MALONE. 9 And died so? &c.] I suppose, these three short speeches were meant to form a single verse, and originally stood as follows: "Cas. And died so? Immortal gods! The tragick Ahs and Ohs interpolated by the players, are too frequently permitted to derange our author's measure. STEEVENS. |