Julius Caesar (14 page)

Let me see, let me see; is not the leaf turned down

Where I left reading? Here it is, I think.

How ill this taper burns. Ha? Who comes here?

I think it is the weakness of mine eyes

That
shapes
this
monstrous
³⁶⁷
apparition.

It comes upon me: art thou any thing?

Art thou some god, some angel, or some devil,

That mak’st my blood cold, and my hair to
stare
³⁷⁰
?

Speak to me what thou art.

GHOST
    Thy evil spirit, Brutus.

BRUTUS
    Why comest thou?

GHOST
    To tell thee thou shalt see me at Philippi.

BRUTUS
    Well: then I shall see thee again?

GHOST
    Ay, at Philippi.

BRUTUS
    Why, I will see thee at Philippi, then.

Now I have
taken heart
³⁷⁸
, thou vanishest.

Ill spirit, I would hold more talk with thee.—

Boy, Lucius, Varrus, Claudio! Sirs, awake! Claudio!

LUCIUS
    The strings, my lord, are
false
³⁸¹
.

BRUTUS
    He thinks he still is at his instrument.—

Lucius, awake!

LUCIUS
    My lord?

BRUTUS
    Didst thou dream, Lucius, that thou so cried’st out?

LUCIUS
    My lord, I do not know that I did cry.

BRUTUS
    Yes, that thou didst: didst thou see anything?

LUCIUS
    Nothing, my lord.

BRUTUS
    Sleep again, Lucius. Sirrah Claudio,

Fellow thou
³⁹⁰
, awake!

VARRUS
    My lord?

CLAUDIO
    My lord?

BRUTUS
    Why did you so cry out, sirs, in your sleep?

BOTH
    Did we, my lord?

BRUTUS
    Ay: saw you anything?

VARRUS
    No, my lord, I saw nothing.

CLAUDIO
    Nor I, my lord.

BRUTUS
    Go and
commend me
³⁹⁸
to my brother Cassius:

Bid him
set on his powers betimes before
³⁹⁹

And we will follow.

BOTH
    It shall be done, my lord.

OCTAVIUS
    Now, Antony, our hopes are answerèd.

You said the enemy would not come down,

But
keep
³
the hills and upper regions:

It proves not so: their
battles
⁴
are at hand.

They mean to
warn
⁵
us at Philippi here,

Answering
before we do
demand of
⁶
them.

ANTONY
    Tut, I
am in their bosoms
⁷
, and I know

Wherefore they do it: they
could be content
⁸

To
visit other places
, and
come down
⁹

With
fearful bravery
, thinking by this
face
¹⁰

To
fasten
¹¹
in our thoughts that they have courage;

But
’tis not so
¹²
.

MESSENGER
    Prepare you, generals.

The enemy comes on in
gallant
¹⁴
show:

Their
bloody sign of battle
¹⁵
is hung out,

And something
to
¹⁶
be done immediately.

ANTONY
    Octavius, lead your battle
softly
¹⁷
on,

Upon the left hand of the
even
¹⁸
field.

OCTAVIUS
    Upon the right hand I: keep thou the left.

ANTONY
    Why do you cross me in this
exigent
²⁰
?

OCTAVIUS
    I do not cross you: but I will do so.

BRUTUS
    They stand, and would
have parley
²²
.

CASSIUS
    Stand fast, Titinius, we must out and talk.

OCTAVIUS
    Mark Antony, shall we give sign of battle?

ANTONY
    No, Caesar, we will
answer on their charge
²⁵
.

Make forth
²⁶
, the generals would have some words.

OCTAVIUS
    Stir not until the signal.

BRUTUS
    Words before blows: is it so, countrymen?

OCTAVIUS
    Not that we love words better, as you do.

BRUTUS
    Good words are better than bad

strokes
³⁰
, Octavius.

ANTONY
    In your bad strokes, Brutus, you give good words:

Witness the hole you made in Caesar’s heart,

Crying ‘Long live! Hail, Caesar!’

CASSIUS
    Antony,

The posture of your blows
³⁵
are yet unknown

But
for
your words
, they rob the
Hybla
³⁶
bees,

And leave them honeyless.

ANTONY
    Not stingless too?

BRUTUS
    O yes, and soundless too,

For you have stol’n their
buzzing
⁴⁰
, Antony,

And very wisely
threat
⁴¹
before you sting.

ANTONY
    Villains, you did not
so
⁴²
, when your vile daggers

Hacked one another in the sides of Caesar:

You
showed your teeth
like
apes
⁴⁴
, and fawned like hounds,

And bowed like bondmen, kissing Caesar’s feet;

Whilst damnèd Casca, like a
cur
⁴⁶
, behind

Struck Caesar on the neck. O you flatterers!

CASSIUS
    Flatterers? Now, Brutus, thank yourself.

This tongue had not offended so today
⁴⁹

If Cassius might have ruled.

OCTAVIUS
    Come, come, the
cause
⁵¹
. If arguing make us sweat,

The
proof
⁵²
of it will turn to redder drops:

Look, I draw a sword against conspirators.

When think you that the sword
goes up
⁵⁴
again?

Never, till Caesar’s three and thirty wounds

Be well avenged, or till
another Caesar
⁵⁶

Have
added slaughter to
⁵⁷
the sword of traitors.

BRUTUS
    Caesar, thou canst not die by traitors’ hands

Unless
thou bring’st them with thee
⁵⁹
.

OCTAVIUS
    So I hope:

I was not born to die on Brutus’ sword.

BRUTUS
    O,
if
thou wert the noblest of thy
strain
⁶²
,

Young man, thou couldst not die
more honourable
⁶³
.

CASSIUS
    A
peevish
⁶⁴
schoolboy, worthless of such honour,

Joined with a
masquer
⁶⁵
and a reveller.

ANTONY
    Old Cassius still.

OCTAVIUS
    Come, Antony, away.

Defiance, traitors, hurl we in your teeth.

If you dare fight today, come to the field;

If not, when you have
stomachs
⁷⁰
.

CASSIUS
    Why now, blow wind, swell
billow
and swim
bark
⁷¹
:

The storm is up and all is
on the hazard
⁷²
.

BRUTUS
    Ho, Lucilius, hark, a word with you.

LUCILIUS
    My lord.

CASSIUS
    Messala.

MESSALA
    What says my general?

CASSIUS
    Messala,

This is my birthday:
as this
⁷⁸
very day

Was Cassius born. Give me thy hand, Messala:

Be thou my witness that against my will —

As
Pompey was
— am I compelled to
set
⁸¹

Upon one battle all our liberties.

You know that I held
Epicurus
⁸³
strong

And his opinion: now I change my mind

And partly
credit
things that do
presage
⁸⁵
.

Coming from Sardis, on our
former ensign
⁸⁶

Two mighty eagles
fell
⁸⁷
, and there they perched,

Gorging and feeding from our soldiers’ hands,

Who to Philippi here
consorted
⁸⁹
us:

This morning are they fled away and gone,

And in their
steads
do
ravens, crows and kites
⁹¹

Fly o’er our heads and downward look on us

As
⁹³
we were sickly prey; their shadows seem

A canopy most
fatal
⁹⁴
, under which

Our army lies, ready to give up the ghost.

MESSALA
    Believe not so.

CASSIUS
    I but believe it partly,

For I am fresh of spirit and resolved

To meet all perils very
constantly
⁹⁹
.

BRUTUS
Even so, Lucilius
¹⁰⁰
.

CASSIUS
    Now, most noble Brutus,

The
¹⁰²
gods today stand friendly, that we may,

Lovers
¹⁰³
in peace, lead on our days to age.

But since the affairs of men
rests still
¹⁰⁴
incertain,

Let’s
reason with
¹⁰⁵
the worst that may befall.

If we do lose this battle, then is this

The very last time we shall speak together:

What are you then determinèd to do?

BRUTUS
    Even by the rule of that
philosophy
¹⁰⁹

By which I did blame
Cato
¹¹⁰
for the death

Which he did give himself — I know not
how
¹¹¹
,

But I do find it cowardly and vile,

For fear of what might
fall
, so to
prevent
¹¹³

The time of life — arming myself with patience

To
stay
¹¹⁵
the providence of some high powers

That govern us below.

CASSIUS
    Then, if we lose this battle,

You are contented to be led
in triumph
¹¹⁸

Through the streets of Rome?

BRUTUS
    No, Cassius, no: think not, thou noble Roman,

That ever Brutus will go bound to Rome.

He bears too
great
¹²²
a mind. But this same day

Must end that work the Ides of March begun.

And whether we shall meet again I know not:

Therefore our everlasting farewell take.

For ever and for ever farewell, Cassius.

If we do meet again, why, we shall smile;

If not, why then, this parting was well made.

CASSIUS
    For ever and for ever farewell, Brutus:

If we do meet again, we’ll smile indeed;

If not, ’tis true this parting was well made.

BRUTUS
    Why, then, lead on. O, that a man might know

The end of this day’s business ere it come:

But it sufficeth that the day will end,

And then the end is known. Come ho, away!