Julius Caesar (12 page)

ANTONY
    These many, then, shall die: their names are
pricked
¹
.

OCTAVIUS
    
Your brother
²
too must die: consent you, Lepidus?

LEPIDUS
    I do consent.

OCTAVIUS
    Prick him down, Antony.

LEPIDUS
    Upon condition Publius shall not live,

Who is your sister’s son, Mark Antony.

ANTONY
    He shall not live; look, with a
spot
I
damn
⁷
him.

But, Lepidus, go you to Caesar’s house:

Fetch the will hither, and we shall determine

How to
cut off some charge in legacies
¹⁰
.

LEPIDUS
    What, shall I find you here?

OCTAVIUS
    
Or
¹²
here, or at the Capitol.

ANTONY
    This is a
slight
¹³
unmeritable man,

Meet
¹⁴
to be sent on errands: is it fit,

The three-fold world divided
¹⁵
, he should stand

One of the three to share it?

OCTAVIUS
    So you thought him,

And took his
voice
¹⁸
who should be pricked to die

In our
black sentence
and
proscription
¹⁹
.

ANTONY
    Octavius, I
have seen more days
²⁰
than you,

And though we lay these honours on this man

To ease ourselves of
divers sland’rous loads
²²
,

He shall but bear them as the ass bears gold,

To groan and sweat under the
business
²⁴
,

Either led or driven, as we point the way:

And having brought our treasure where we
will
²⁶
,

Then take we down his load, and turn him
off
²⁷
—

Like to the
empty
²⁸
ass — to shake his ears

And graze in
commons
²⁹
.

OCTAVIUS
    You may do your will:

But he’s a
tried
³¹
and valiant soldier.

ANTONY
    So is my horse, Octavius, and for that

I do
appoint him store of provender
³³
.

It is a creature that I teach to fight,

To
wind
³⁵
, to stop, to run directly on,

His
corporal
³⁶
motion governed by my spirit,

And, in some
taste
³⁷
, is Lepidus but so:

He must be taught, and trained, and bid go forth —

A
barren-spirited
³⁹
fellow; one that feeds

On
objects, arts and imitations
⁴⁰

Which, out of use and
staled
⁴¹
by other men,

Begin his fashion
⁴²
. Do not talk of him

But as a
property
⁴³
. And now, Octavius,

Listen
⁴⁴
great things. Brutus and Cassius

Are
levying powers
. We must straight
make head
⁴⁵
:

Therefore let our alliance be
combined
⁴⁶
,

Our best friends
made
, our means
stretched
⁴⁷
,

And let us
presently
go
sit in counsel
⁴⁸
,

How
covert matters may be best disclosed
⁴⁹
,

And
open
perils
surest
⁵⁰
answerèd.

OCTAVIUS
    Let us do so, for we are
at the stake
⁵¹

And
bayed about
⁵²
with many enemies,

And some that smile have in their hearts, I fear,

Millions of
mischiefs
⁵⁴
.

BRUTUS
    
Stand ho
¹
.

LUCILIUS
    
Give the word, ho
²
, and stand.

BRUTUS
    What now, Lucilius, is Cassius near?

LUCILIUS
    He is at hand, and Pindarus is come

To do you salutation from
his master
⁵
.

BRUTUS
    He greets me well. Your master, Pindarus,

In his own
change
, or by
ill officers
⁷
,

Hath given me some
worthy
⁸
cause to wish

Things done, undone: but if he be at hand

I shall
be satisfied
¹⁰
.

PINDARUS
    I do not doubt

But that my noble master will appear

Such as he is, full of
regard
¹³
and honour.

BRUTUS
    He is not doubted.— A word, Lucilius.

How
he
received you: let me be
resolved
¹⁵
.

LUCILIUS
    With courtesy and with respect enough,

But not with such
familiar instances
¹⁷
,

Nor with such free and friendly
conference
¹⁸

As he hath used of old.

BRUTUS
    Thou hast described

A
hot
friend, cooling:
ever
²¹
note, Lucilius,

When love begins to sicken and decay

It
useth an enforced ceremony
²³
.

There are no tricks in plain and simple faith:

But
hollow
men, like horses
hot at hand
²⁵
,

Make
gallant
show, and promise of their
mettle
²⁶
:

But when they should endure the
bloody
²⁷
spur,

They
fall
their
crests
, and like deceitful
jades
²⁸

Sink in the trial
²⁹
. Comes his army on?

LUCILIUS
    They mean this night in Sardis to be
quartered
³⁰
:

The greater part, the
horse in general
³¹
,

Are come with Cassius.

BRUTUS
    Hark, he is arrived:

March
gently
³⁴
on to meet him.

CASSIUS
    Stand ho.

BRUTUS
    Stand ho. Speak the word along.

FIRST SOLDIER
    Stand.

SECOND SOLDIER
    Stand.

THIRD SOLDIER
    Stand.

CASSIUS
    Most noble
brother
⁴⁰
, you have done me wrong.

BRUTUS
    Judge me, you gods; wrong I mine enemies?

And if not so, how
should
⁴²
I wrong a brother?

CASSIUS
    Brutus, this sober form of yours hides wrongs,

And when you do them—

BRUTUS
    Cassius, be content.

Speak your
griefs
⁴⁶
softly. I do know you well:

Before the eyes of both our armies here —

Which should perceive nothing but love from us —

Let us not wrangle. Bid them move away:

Then in my tent, Cassius,
enlarge
⁵⁰
your griefs,

And I will
give you audience
⁵¹
.

CASSIUS
    Pindarus,

Bid our commanders lead their
charges
off
⁵³

A little from this ground.

BRUTUS
    Lucilius, do you the like, and let no man

Come to our tent till we have done our conference.

Let Lucius and Titinius guard our door.

CASSIUS
    That you have wronged me doth appear in this:

You have condemned and
noted
⁵⁹
Lucius Pella

For taking bribes here of the Sardians;

Wherein my letters,
praying
⁶¹
on his side

Because I knew the man, was
slighted off
⁶²
.

BRUTUS
    You wronged yourself to write in such a case.

CASSIUS
    In such a time as this it is not
meet
⁶⁴

That every
nice
offence should
bear his comment
⁶⁵
.

BRUTUS
    Let me tell you, Cassius, you yourself

Are much
condemned to have an itching palm
⁶⁷
,

To sell and
mart
your
offices
⁶⁸
for gold

To undeservers.

CASSIUS
    I, an itching palm?

You know that
you are Brutus that speaks this
⁷¹
,

Or by the gods, this speech were else your last.

BRUTUS
    The name of Cassius
honours
⁷³
this corruption,

And
chastisement
doth therefore
hide his head
⁷⁴
.

CASSIUS
    Chastisement?

BRUTUS
    Remember March, the Ides of March remember:

Did not great Julius bleed for justice’ sake?

What villain touched his body, that did stab

And not for justice? What, shall one of us,

That struck the foremost man of all this world

But
for
supporting robbers
⁸¹
: shall we now

Contaminate our fingers with base bribes?

And sell the mighty space of our
large honours
⁸³

For so much
trash
⁸⁴
as may be graspèd thus?

I had rather be a dog and
bay
⁸⁵
the moon,

Than such a Roman.

CASSIUS
    Brutus, bait not me,

I’ll not endure it: you forget yourself

To
hedge me in
⁸⁹
. I am a soldier, I,

Older in practice, abler than yourself

To
make conditions
⁹¹
.

BRUTUS
    
Go to
⁹²
, you are not Cassius.

CASSIUS
    I am.

BRUTUS
    I say you are not.

CASSIUS
    Urge me no more, I shall
forget myself
⁹⁵
.

Have mind upon
⁹⁶
your health: tempt me no further.

BRUTUS
    Away,
slight
⁹⁷
man!

CASSIUS
    Is’t possible?

BRUTUS
    Hear me, for I will speak.

Must I give
way and room
to your rash
choler
¹⁰⁰
?

Shall I be frighted when a madman stares?

CASSIUS
    O ye gods, ye gods, must I endure all this?

BRUTUS
    All this? Ay, more: fret till your proud heart break.

Go show your slaves how choleric you are

And make your bondmen tremble. Must I
budge
¹⁰⁵
?

Must I
observe
you? Must I stand and
crouch
¹⁰⁶

Under your
testy humour
¹⁰⁷
? By the gods,

You shall
digest
the venom of your
spleen
¹⁰⁸

Though it do split you. For, from this day forth,

I’ll use you for my mirth, yea, for my laughter,

When you are waspish.

CASSIUS
    Is it come to this?

BRUTUS
    You say you are a better soldier:

Let it appear so; make your
vaunting
¹¹⁴
true

And it shall please me well. For mine own part,

I shall be glad to learn
of
¹¹⁶
noble men.

CASSIUS
    You wrong me every way: you wrong me, Brutus.

I said, an elder soldier, not a better.

Did I say ‘better’?

BRUTUS
    If you did, I care not.

CASSIUS
    When Caesar lived, he
durst not thus have
¹²¹

moved me.

BRUTUS
    Peace, peace, you durst not so have tempted him.

CASSIUS
    I durst not?

BRUTUS
    No.

CASSIUS
    What? Durst not tempt him?

BRUTUS
    For your life you durst not.

CASSIUS
    Do not
presume
¹²⁷
too much upon my love:

I may do that I shall be sorry for.

BRUTUS
    You have done that you should be sorry for.

There is no terror, Cassius, in your threats,

For I am armed so strong in honesty

That they pass by me as the
idle
¹³²
wind,

Which I respect not. I did send to you

For certain sums of gold, which you denied me,

For I can raise no money by
vile means
¹³⁵
:

By heaven, I had rather
coin
¹³⁶
my heart

And
drop
my blood for
drachmas
¹³⁷
, than to wring

From the
hard
hands of peasants their
vile
¹³⁸
trash

By any
indirection
¹³⁹
. I did send

To you for gold to pay my legions,

Which you denied me: was that done like Cassius?

Should I have answered Caius Cassius so?

When Marcus Brutus grows so covetous,

To lock such
rascal counters
¹⁴⁴
from his friends,

Be ready, gods, with all your thunderbolts,

Dash him to pieces!

CASSIUS
    I denied you not.

BRUTUS
    You did.

CASSIUS
    I did not. He was but a fool that brought

My answer back. Brutus hath
rived
¹⁵⁰
my heart:

A friend should bear his friend’s
infirmities
¹⁵¹
;

But Brutus makes mine greater than they are.

BRUTUS
    I do not, till you practise them on me.

CASSIUS
    You love me not.

BRUTUS
    I do not like your faults.

CASSIUS
    A friendly eye could never see such faults.

BRUTUS
    A flatterer’s would not, though they do appear

As huge as high Olympus.

CASSIUS
    Come, Antony, and young Octavius, come,

Revenge yourselves alone on Cassius,

For Cassius is aweary of the world:

Hated by one he loves,
braved
¹⁶²
by his brother,

Checked
¹⁶³
like a bondman, all his faults observed,

Set in a notebook, learned and
conned by rote
¹⁶⁴

To cast into my teeth. O, I could weep

My spirit from mine eyes! There is my dagger,

And here my naked breast: within, a heart

Dearer
than
Pluto
’s
mine
¹⁶⁸
, richer than gold.

If that thou be’st a Roman,
take it forth
¹⁶⁹
.

I that denied thee gold will give my heart:

Strike as thou didst at Caesar, for I know,

When thou didst hate him worst, thou lov’dst him better

Than ever thou lov’dst Cassius.

BRUTUS
    Sheathe your dagger.

Be angry when you will, it shall have scope:

Do what you will,
dishonour shall be humour
¹⁷⁶
.

O Cassius, you are yokèd with a
lamb
¹⁷⁷

That carries anger as the flint bears fire,

Who, much
enforcèd
, shows a
hasty
¹⁷⁹
spark

And straight is cold again.

CASSIUS
    Hath Cassius lived

To be but mirth and laughter to his Brutus,

When grief and
blood ill-tempered
¹⁸³
vexeth him?

BRUTUS
    When I spoke that, I was ill-tempered too.

CASSIUS
    Do you confess so much? Give me your hand.

BRUTUS
    And my heart too.