Bru. How many times shall Cæsar bleed in sport, That now on Pompey's basis lies along,

No worthier than the dust?

Cas.

So oft as that shall be,3

So often shall the knot of us be call'd
The men that gave our country liberty.
Dec. What, shall we forth?

Cas.

Ay, every man away :
Brutus shall lead; and we will grace his heels

With the most boldest and best hearts of Rome.
Enter a Servant.

Bru. Soft, who comes here? A friend of Antony's.
Serv. Thus, Brutus, did my master bid me kneel;
Thus did Mark Antony bid me fall down;
And, being prostrate, thus he bade me say.
Brutus is noble, wise, valiant, and honest;
Cæsar was mighty, bold, royal, and loving:
Say, I love Brutus, and I honour him;

Say, I fear'd Cæsar, honour'd him, and lov'd him.
If Brutus will vouchsafe, that Antony
May safely come to him, and be resolv'd
How Cæsar hath deserv'd to lie in death,
Mark Antony shall not love Cæsar dead
So well as Brutus living; but will follow
The fortunes and affairs of noble Brutus,
Thorough the hazards of this untrod state,
With all true faith. So says my master Antony.
Bru. Thy master is a wise and valiant Roman;
I never thought him worse.

Tell him, so please him come unto this place,
He shall be satisfied; and, by my honour,

Depart untouch'd.

Serv.

I'll fetch him presently. [Exit Serv. Bru. I know, that we shall have him well to friend. Cas. I wish, we may: but yet have I a mind,

But surely, by unborn states, our author must have meant-communities which as yet have no existence. Steevens.

3 So oft as that shall be.] The words-shall be, which render this verse too long by a foot, may be justly considered as interpolations, the sense of the passage being obvious without a supplement. As oft as that, in elliptical phrase, will signify- -as oft as that shall happen. There are too many instances of similar ellipsis destroyed by the player editors, at the expense of metre. Steevens.

That fears him much; and my misgiving still

Falls shrewdly to the purpose.

Re-enter ANTONY.

Bru. But here comes Antony.-Welcome, Mark An

tony.

Ant. O mighty Cæsar! Dost thou lie so low?
Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils,
Shrunk to this little measure?-Fare thee well.-
I know not, gentlemen, what you intend,
Who else must be let blood, who else is rank:
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,

Now, whilst your purpled hands do reek and smoke,
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;
And pity to the general wrong of Rome
(As fire drives out fire," so pity, pity,)

who else is rank:] Who else may be supposed to have overtopped his equals, and grown too high for the public safety. Johnson. I rather believe the meaning is, who else is too replete with blood? So, in our author's Venus and Adonis:

"Rain added to a river that is rank,

"Perforce will force it overflow the bank."

See Vol. VII, p. 411, n. 1. Malone.

In The Tempest we have

66- whom to trash

"For overtopping."

I conceive Dr. Johnson's explanation therefore to be the true one. The epithet rank is employed, on a similar occasion in King Henry VIII:

"Ha! what, so rank?"

and without allusion to a plethora. Steevens.

Hath done this deed on Cæsar. For your part,

To you our swords have leaden points, Mark Antony:
Our arms, in strength of malice, and our hearts,
Of brothers' temper, do receive you in

With all kind love, good thoughts, and reverence.
Cas. Your voice shall be as strong as any man's,
In the disposing of new dignities.

Bru. Only be patient, till we have appeas'd
The multitude, beside themselves with fear,
And then we will deliver you the cause,

Why I, that did love Cæsar when I struck him,
Have thus proceeded.

Ant. I doubt not of your wisdom. Let each man render me his bloody hand: First, Marcus Brutus, will I shake with you ;Next, Caius Cassius, do I take your hand;Now, Decius Brutus, yours ;-now yours, Metellus; Yours, Cinna;-and, my valiant Casca, yours ;Though last, not least in love, yours, good Trebonius.

As fire drives out fire, &c.] So, in Coriolanus:

"One fire drives out one fire; one nail one nail." Malone. Again, in The Two Gentlemen of Verona:

"Even as one heat another heat expels,

"Or as one nail by strength drives out another." Steevens.

6 Our arms in strength of malice,] Thus the old copies:

To you (says Brutus) our swords have leaden points: our arms, strong in the deed of malice they have just performed, and our hearts united like those of brothers in the action, are yet open to receive you with all possible regard. The supposition that Brutus meant, their hearts were of brothers' temper in respect of Antony, seems to have misled those who have commented on this passage before. For-in strength of, Mr. Pope substituted-exempt from, and was too hastily followed by other editors. If alteration were necessary, it would be easier to read: Steevens.

Our arms no strength of malice,

One of the phrases in this passage, which Mr. Steevens has so happily explained, occurs again in Antony and Cleopatra: "To make you brothers, and to knit your hearts, "With an unslipping knot.”

Again, ibid:

"The heart of brothers governs in our love!"

The counterpart of the other phrase is found in the same play: “I'll wrestle with you in my strength of love." Malone.

7 Though last, not least in love,] So, in King Lear:

Although the last, not least in our dear love."

The same expression occurs more than once in plays exhibited before the time of Shakspeare. Malone.

Gentlemen all,-alas! what shall I say?

My credit now stands on such slippery ground,
That one of two bad ways you must conceit me,
Either a coward, or a flatterer.—

That I did love thee, Cæsar, O, 'tis true:
If then thy spirit look upon us now,

Shall it not grieve thee, dearer than thy death,
To see thy Antony making his peace,
Shaking the bloody fingers of thy foes,
Most noble! in the presence of thy corse?
Had I as many eyes as thou hast wounds,
Weeping as fast as they stream forth thy blood,
It would become me better, than to close

In terms of friendship with thine enemies.

Pardon me, Julius!-Here wast thou bay'd, brave hart;
Here didst thou fall; and here thy hunters stand,
Sign'd in thy spoil, and crimson'd in thy lethe.

O world! thou wast the forest to this hart;
And this, indeed, O world, the heart of thee.—
How like a deer, stricken by many princes,
Dost thou here lie?

Cas. Mark Antony,
Ant.

Pardon me, Caius Cassius: this;

The enemies of Cæsar shall say

Then, in a friend, it is cold modesty.

Cas. I blame you not for praising Cæsar so; But what compact mean you to have with us? Will you be prick'd in number of our friends; Or shall we on, and not depend on you?

Ant. Therefore I took your hands; but was, indeed, Sway'd from the point, by looking down on Cæsar. Friends am I with you all, and love you all;

8 -

crimson'd in thy lethe.] Lethe is used by many of the old translators of novels, for death; and in Heywood's Iron Age, P. II, 1632:

"The proudest nation that great Asia nurs❜d,

"Is now extinct in lethe."

Again, in Cupid's Whirligigg, 1616:

"For vengeance' wings brings on thy lethal day."

Dr. Farmer observes, that we meet with lethal for deadly in the information for Mungo Campbell. Steevens.

9 Friends am I with you all, &c.] This grammatical impropriety is still so prevalent, as that the omission of the anomalous S, would give some uncouthness to the sound of an otherwise familiar expression. Henley.

Upon this hope, that you shall give me reasons,
Why, and wherein, Cæsar was dangerous.

Bru. Or else were this a savage spectacle:
Our reasons are so full of good regard,
That were you, Antony, the son of Cæsar,
You should be satisfied.

Ant.

That's all I seek :

And am moreover suitor, that I may
Produce his body to the market-place;
And in the pulpit, as becomes a friend,
Speak in the order of his funeral.

Bru. You shall, Mark Antony.
Cas.

Brutus, a word with you.1

You know not what you do; Do not consent,
That Antony speak in his funeral :

Know you how much the people may be mov'd
By that which he will utter?

Bru.

By your pardon ;-
I will myself into the pulpit first,
And show the reason of our Cæsar's death:
What Antony shall speak, I will protest
He speaks by leave and by permission;
And that we are contented, Cæsar shall
Have all true rites, and lawful ceremonies.
It shall advantage more, than do us wrong.

[Aside.

Cas. I know not what may fall; I like it not.
Bru. Mark Antony, here, take you Cæsar's body.
You shall not in your funeral speech blame us,
But speak all good you can devise of Cæsar;
And say, you do 't by our permission ;
Else shall you not have any hand at all
About his funeral: And you shall speak
In the same pulpit whereto I am going,
After my speech is ended.

Ant.

I do desire no more.

Be it so;

Bru. Prepare the body then, and follow us.

[Exeunt all but ANT Ant. O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth,

1 Brutus, a word with you.] With you is an apparent interpolation of the players. In Act IV, sc. ii, they have retained the elliptical phrase which they have here destroyed at the expense of metre:

"He is not doubted. A word, Lucilius ; -,' Steevens,