Julius Caesar (13 page)

CASSIUS
    O Brutus!

BRUTUS
    What’s the matter?

CASSIUS
    Have not you love enough to bear with me,

When that
rash humour
¹⁹⁰
which my mother gave me

Makes me
forgetful
¹⁹¹
?

BRUTUS
    Yes, Cassius, and from henceforth

When you are over-earnest with your Brutus,

He’ll think your mother chides, and
leave you so
¹⁹⁴
.

POET
    Let me go in to see the generals.

There is some grudge between ’em, ’tis not meet

They be alone.

LUCILIUS
    You shall not come to them.

POET
    Nothing but death shall stay me.

CASSIUS
    How now? What’s the matter?

POET
    For shame, you generals; what do you
mean
²⁰¹
?

Love and be friends, as two such men should be,

For I have seen more years, I’m sure, than ye.

CASSIUS
    Ha, ha, how vilely doth this
cynic
²⁰⁴
rhyme!

BRUTUS
    Get you hence, sirrah.
Saucy
²⁰⁵
fellow, hence.

CASSIUS
    Bear with him, Brutus, ’tis his
fashion
²⁰⁶
.

BRUTUS
    
I’ll know his humour when he knows his time
²⁰⁷
:

What should the wars do with these
jigging
²⁰⁸
fools?

Companion
²⁰⁹
, hence.

CASSIUS
    Away, away, be gone.

BRUTUS
    Lucilius and Titinius, bid the commanders

Prepare to lodge their companies tonight.

CASSIUS
    And come yourselves, and bring Messala with you

Immediately to us.

BRUTUS
Lucius, a bowl of wine.

CASSIUS
    I did not think you could have been so angry.

BRUTUS
    O Cassius, I am sick
of
²¹⁷
many griefs.

CASSIUS
    Of your
philosophy
²¹⁸
you make no use,

If you give
place
to
accidental evils
²¹⁹
.

BRUTUS
    No man bears sorrow better. Portia is dead.

CASSIUS
    Ha? Portia?

BRUTUS
    She is dead.

CASSIUS
    How
scaped
I killing when I
crossed
²²³
you so?

O, insupportable and
touching
²²⁴
loss!

Upon
²²⁵
what sickness?

BRUTUS
    Impatient of my absence,

And grief that young Octavius with Mark Antony

Have made themselves so strong — for with
her
²²⁸
death

That tidings
came — with this she fell
distract
²²⁹
,

And — her attendants absent — swallowed
fire
²³⁰
.

CASSIUS
    And died so?

BRUTUS
    Even so.

CASSIUS
    O ye immortal gods!

BRUTUS
    Speak no more of her. Give me a bowl of wine.

In this I bury all unkindness, Cassius.

CASSIUS
    My heart is thirsty for that noble pledge.

Fill, Lucius, till the wine
o’erswell
²³⁷
the cup:

I cannot drink too much of Brutus’ love.

BRUTUS
    Come in, Titinius. Welcome, good Messala.

Now sit we close about this taper here

And
call in question
²⁴¹
our necessities.

CASSIUS
    Portia, art thou gone?

BRUTUS
    No more, I pray you.—

Messala, I have here receivèd letters,

That young Octavius and Mark Antony

Come down upon us with a mighty power,

Bending
their
expedition
toward
Philippi
²⁴⁷
.

MESSALA
    Myself have letters of the selfsame
tenor
²⁴⁸
.

BRUTUS
    With what addition?

MESSALA
    That by
proscription and bills of outlawry
²⁵⁰
,

Octavius, Antony and Lepidus

Have put to death an hundred senators.

BRUTUS
    Therein our letters do not well agree:

Mine speak of seventy senators that died

By their proscriptions, Cicero being one.

CASSIUS
    Cicero one?

MESSALA
    Cicero is dead,

And by that order of proscription.

Had you your letters from your wife, my lord?

BRUTUS
    No, Messala.

MESSALA
    Nor nothing in your letters writ of her?

BRUTUS
    Nothing, Messala.

MESSALA
    That, methinks, is strange.

BRUTUS
    Why ask you? Hear you aught of her in yours?

MESSALA
    No, my lord.

BRUTUS
    Now, as you are a Roman, tell me true.

MESSALA
    Then like a Roman bear the truth I tell,

For certain she is dead, and by strange manner.

BRUTUS
    Why, farewell, Portia: we must die, Messala:

With meditating that she
must die once
²⁷⁰
,

I have the patience to endure it now.

MESSALA
    
Even so
²⁷²
great men great losses should endure.

CASSIUS
    I have as much of this in
art
²⁷³
as you,

But yet my
nature
could not
bear it
²⁷⁴
so.

BRUTUS
    Well, to our work
alive
²⁷⁵
. What do you think

Of marching to Philippi presently?

CASSIUS
    I do not think it good.

BRUTUS
    Your reason?

CASSIUS
    This it is:

’Tis better that the enemy seek us,

So shall he waste his means, weary his soldiers,

Doing himself
offence
²⁸²
, whilst we, lying still,

Are full of rest, defence and nimbleness.

BRUTUS
    Good reasons must of
force
give
place
²⁸⁴
to better:

The people ’twixt Philippi and this ground

Do stand but in a forced
affection
²⁸⁶
,

For they have grudged us
contribution
²⁸⁷
.

The enemy, marching along by them,

By them shall
make a fuller number up
²⁸⁹
,

Come on refreshed,
new-added
²⁹⁰
and encouraged,

From which advantage shall we cut him off

If at Philippi we do face him there,

These people at our back
²⁹³
.

CASSIUS
    Hear me, good brother.

BRUTUS
    
Under your pardon
²⁹⁵
. You must note beside

That we have
tried
²⁹⁶
the utmost of our friends,

Our legions are brim-full, our cause is ripe.

The enemy increaseth every day:

We, at the height, are ready to decline.

There is a tide in the affairs of men

Which,
taken at the flood
³⁰¹
, leads on to fortune:

Omitted
³⁰²
, all the voyage of their life

Is
bound in shallows
³⁰³
and in miseries.

On such a full sea are we now afloat,

And we must take the current when it serves,

Or lose our
ventures
³⁰⁶
.

CASSIUS
    Then with your will go on:

We’ll
along
³⁰⁸
ourselves, and meet them at Philippi.

BRUTUS
    The deep of night is crept upon our talk,

And nature must obey necessity,

Which we will
niggard
³¹¹
with a little rest.

There is no more to say.

CASSIUS
    No more. Goodnight.

Early tomorrow will we rise, and hence.

BRUTUS
    Lucius. My
gown
³¹⁵
.—

Farewell, good Messala.—

Goodnight, Titinius.— Noble, noble Cassius,

Goodnight, and good repose.

CASSIUS
    O my dear brother,

This was an ill beginning of the night:

Never come such division ’tween our souls.

Let it not, Brutus.

BRUTUS
    Everything is well.

CASSIUS
    Goodnight, my lord.

BRUTUS
    Goodnight, good brother.

TITINIUS
and
MESSALA
    Goodnight, Lord Brutus.

BRUTUS
    Farewell, every one.

Give me the gown. Where is thy
instrument
³²⁷
?

LUCIUS
    Here in the tent.

BRUTUS
    What, thou speak’st drowsily?

Poor knave, I blame thee not: thou
art o’er-watched
³³⁰
.

Call Claudio and some other of my men.

I’ll have them sleep on cushions in my tent.

LUCIUS
    Varrus and Claudio!

VARRUS
    Calls my lord?

BRUTUS
    I pray you, sirs, lie in my tent and sleep.

It may be I shall
raise
³³⁶
you by and by

On business to my brother Cassius.

VARRUS
    So please you, we will stand and
watch your pleasure
³³⁸
.

BRUTUS
    I will not have it so: lie down, good sirs,

It may be I shall
otherwise bethink me
³⁴⁰
.

Look, Lucius, here’s the book I sought for so:

I put it in the pocket of my gown.

LUCIUS
    I was sure your lordship did not give it me.

BRUTUS
    Bear with me, good boy, I am much forgetful.

Canst thou hold up thy heavy eyes awhile

And
touch
³⁴⁶
thy instrument a strain or two?

LUCIUS
    Ay, my lord,
an’t
³⁴⁷
please you.

BRUTUS
    It does, my boy.

I trouble thee too much, but thou art willing.

LUCIUS
    It is my duty, sir.

BRUTUS
    I should not urge thy duty past thy
might
³⁵¹
.

I know young bloods
look for
³⁵²
a time of rest.

LUCIUS
    I have slept, my lord, already.

BRUTUS
    It was well done, and thou shalt sleep again.

I will not
hold
³⁵⁵
thee long. If I do live,

I will be good to thee.

This is a sleepy tune:— O
murderous
³⁵⁷
slumber!

Lay’st thou thy
leaden mace
³⁵⁸
upon my boy,

That plays thee music?— Gentle knave, goodnight.

I will not do thee so much wrong to wake thee:

If thou dost nod, thou break’st thy instrument,

I’ll take it from thee. And, good boy, goodnight.