The old Anchises bear, so, from the waves of Tyber
Did I the tired Cæsar: And this man
Is now become a god; and Cassius is
A wretched creature, and must bend his body,
If Cæsar carelessly but nod on him.
He had a fever when he was in Spain,
And, when the fit was on him, I did mark
How he did shake: 'tis true, this god did shake:
His coward lips did from their colour fly;1
And that same eye, whose bend doth awe the world, 2
Did lose his lustre: I did hear him groan:
Ay, and that tongue of his, that bade the Romans
Mark him, and write his speeches in their books,
Alas! it cried, Give me some drink, Tilinius,
As a sick girl. Ye gods, it doth amaze me,
A man of such a feeble temper? should
So get the start of the majestick world,
And bear the palm alone.

[Shout. Flourish.
Bru. Another general shout!
I do believe, that these applauses are
For some new honours that are heap'd on Cæsar.

Cas. Why, man, he doth bestride 5 the narrow world, Like a Colossus; and we petty men Walk under his huge legs, and peep about To find ourselves dishonourable graves. Men at some time are masters of their fates;

The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings.?

Brutus and Cæsar: What should be in that Cæsar?
Why should that name be sounded more than yours ?
Write them together, yours is as fair a name;
Sound them, it doth become the mouth well;

1) A plain man would have said, I lotted to the foremost in the race. the colour fled from his lips, and not Warburton takes the majestick world his lips from their colour. Warburton to be a fine periphrasis for the Rosays, that the false expression was man empire; the citizens of Rome set for the sake of as false a piece of themselves on a footing with kings, wit: a poor quibble, alluding to a and they called their dominion orbis coward flying from his colours. terrarum. 2) i. e. whose look strikes the world

5) To bestride, to step over. with fear.

3) Temper, temperament, consti 6) Huge, vast immense. tution,

7) i. e. inferior agents; sorry, mean 4) The allusion is to the price al- fellows.

Weigh them, it is as heavy; conjure with them,
Brutus will start a spirit as soon as Cæsar.

Shout.
Now in the names of all the gods at once,
Upon what meat doth this our Cæsar feed,
That he is grown so great ? Age, thou art sham’d:
Rome, thou hast lost the breed of noble bloods ! 1
When went there by an age, since the great flood,
But it was fam'd with more than with one man ??
When could they say, till now, that talk’d of Rome,
That her wide walks encompass'd but one man?
Now is it Rome indeed, and room enough,
When there is in it but one only man
O! you and I have heard our fathers say,
There was a Brutus once, that would have brook'd 3
The eternal devil to keep his state in Rome,
As easily as a king: 4

Bru. That you do love me, I am nothing jealous;
What
you

would work me to, I have some aim;
How I have thought of this, and of these times,
I shall recount hereafter; for this present,
I would not, so with love I might entreat you,
Be any further mov'd. What you have said,
I will consider; what you have to say
I will with patience hear: and find a time
Both meet to bear, and answer, such high things.
Till then, my noble friend, chew 6 upon this;
Brutus had rather be a villager,
Than to repute himself a son of Rome
Under these hard conditions as 7 this time
Is like to lay upon us.

5

Re-enter CÆSAR, and his Train.
Bru. The games are done, and Cæsar is returning.

Cas. As they pass by, pluck Casca by the sleeve;
And he will, after his sour fashion, tell

you What hath proceeded, worthy note, to-day:

BRU. I will do so : - But look you, Cassius,
The angry spot doth glow on Cæsar's brow,
And all the rest look like a chidden train:
Calphurnia's cheek is pale; and Cicero
Looks with such ferret1 and such fiery eyes,
As we have seen him in the Capitol,
Being cross'd? in conference by some senators.

Cas. Casca will tell us what the matter is.
CÆs. Antonius.
ANT. Cæsar.

Cæs. Let me have men about me that are fat;
Sleek-headed men;3 and such as sleep o' nights:
Yond' Cassius has a lean and hungry look ;
He thinks too much: such men are dangerous.

ANT. Fear him not, Cæsar, he's not dangerous;
He is a noble Roman, and well given.

CÆs. 'Would he were fatter: But I fear him not:
Yet if my name were liable to fear,
I do not know the man I should avoid
So soon as that spare 4 Cassius. He reads much;
He is a great observer, and he looks
Quite through the deeds of men: he loves no plays,
As thou dost, Antony; he hears no musick:
Seldom he smiles; and smiles in such a sort,
As if he mock'd himself, and scorn'd his spirit
That could be mov'd to smile at any thing.
Such men as he be never at heart's ease,
Whiles 5 they behold a greater than themselves;

1) A ferret has red eyes.

I fear them most; meaning Brutus 2) To cross, to contradict.

and Cassius.” And again: Cæsar 3) So, in Sir Thomas North’s trans- had Cassius in great jealousy, and lation of Ptutarch, 1579. “When Cæ- suspected him much, whereupon he sar's friends complained unto him of said on a time to his friends, What Antonius and Dolabella, that they will Cassius do, think you? I like pretended some mischief towards not his pale looks.”' Steevens. him; he answered, as for those fat 4) Spare, properly, means parsimomen and smooth - combed heads, Inious, but here lean, wanting flesh. never reckon of them; but these 5) Whiles, as long, as, is old for pale-visaged and carrion-lean people, whilst, or while.

And therefore are they very dangerous.
I rather tell thee what is to be fear'd,
Than what I fear, for always I am Cæsar.
Come on my right hand, for this ear is deaf,
And tell me truly what thou think'st of him.
[Exeunt CÆSAR and his Train. Caso

stays behind. CASCA. You pull’d me by the cloak; would you speak with me?

BRU. Ay, Casca; tell us what hath chanc'd to-day,
That Cæsar looks so sad.

Casca. Why, you were with him, were you not ?
BRU. I should not then ask Casca what hath chanc'd.

CASCA. Why, there was a crown offer'd him: and being offer'd him, he put it by with the back of his hand, thus; and then the people fell a shouting. 1

BRU. What was the second noise for?
CASCA. Why, for that too.
Cas. They shouted thrice; What was the last cry

for?
Casca. Why, for that too.
BRU. Was the crown offered him thrice?

CASCA. Ay, mary, 2 was't, and he put it by thrice, every time gentler than other; and at every putting by, mine 3 honest neighbours shouted.

CAS. Who offer'd him the crown ?
CASCA. Why, Antony.
Bru. Tell us the manner of it, gentle Casca.

CASCA. I can as well be hanged as tell the manner of it: it was mere foolery. I did not mark it. I saw Mark Antony offer him a crown; yet 'twas not a crown neither, 'twas one of these coronets;4 and, as I told you, he put it by once; but, for all that, to my thinking, he would fains have had it. Then he offered it to him again; then he put it by again: but, to my thinking, he was very loath to lay his fingers off it. And then he offered it the third

1) A placed before a participle, orthy, before vowels and h mute, is still participial noun. So, to go a fishing, in use, both, in grave and ludicrous a hunting, to come a begging. language. 2) Marry – indeed

forsooth: an 4) So in the old translation of Pluexclamation of frequent use in Shak- tarch: “ – he came to Cæsar, and speare, which is commonly supposed | presented him a diadem wreathed to be a corruption of holy Maria, or about with laurel.” Steevens. Mary.

5) Fain, adv. gladly, very desi3) Mine, thine, the substantive rously. pronoun instead of the adjective my, 6) Off, used here as a preposition,

time; he put it the third time by: and still as he refused it, the rabblement hooted,' and clapped their chopped hands, and threw up their night-caps, and uttered such a deal of foul breath because Cæsar refused the crown, that it had almost choked Cæsar; for he swooned, and fell down at it: And for mine own part, I durst not laugh, for fear of opening my lips, and receiving the bad air.

CAS. But soft, I pray you: What? did Cæsar swoon?

CASCA. He fell down in the market-place, and foamed at mouth, and was speechless.

Bru. 'Tis very like: he hath the falling-sickness.

CAS. No, Cæsar hath it not; but you, and I, And honest Casca, we have the falling-sickness.

CASCA. I know not what you mean by that; but, I am sure, Cæsar fell down. If the tag-rag: people did not clap him, and hiss him, according as he pleased, and displeased them, as they used to do the players in the theatre, I am no true man.

BRU. What said he, when he came unto himself?

CASCA. Marry, before he fell down, when he perceived the common herd was glad he refused the crown, he plucked

ope his doublet, and offered them this throat to cut.

An I had been a man of any occupation, if I would not have taken him at a word, I would I might go to hell among the rogues: and so he fell. When he came to himself again, he said, If he had done, or said any thing amiss, he desired their worships to think it was his infirmity. Three or four wenches, where I stood, cried, Alas, good soul! and forgave him with all their hearts: But

me 6