Julius Caesar (9 page)

CAESAR
    
Hence
. Wilt thou lift up
Olympus
⁸⁰
?

DECIUS
    Great Caesar—

CAESAR
    Doth not Brutus
bootless
⁸²
kneel?

CASCA
    Speak
hands
⁸³
for me!

CAESAR
    
Et tu, Bruté?
⁸⁴
— Then fall, Caesar.

CINNA
    Liberty! Freedom! Tyranny is dead!

Run hence, proclaim, cry it about the streets.

CASSIUS
    Some to the
common pulpits
⁸⁷
and cry out

‘Liberty, freedom and enfranchisement!’

BRUTUS
    People and senators, be not
affrighted
⁸⁹
.

Fly not, stand still:
ambition’s debt is paid
⁹⁰
.

CASCA
    Go to the pulpit, Brutus.

DECIUS
    And Cassius too.

BRUTUS
    Where’s Publius?

CINNA
    Here, quite
confounded with
this
mutiny
⁹⁴
.

METELLUS
    Stand
fast
⁹⁵
together, lest some friend of Caesar’s

Should chance—

BRUTUS
    Talk not of
standing
. Publius,
good cheer
⁹⁷
:

There is no harm intended to your person,

Nor to no Roman else: so tell them, Publius.

CASSIUS
    And leave us, Publius, lest that the people,

Rushing on us, should do your
age
some
mischief
¹⁰¹
.

BRUTUS
    Do so, and let no man
abide
¹⁰²
this deed

But we the doers.

CASSIUS
    Where is Antony?

TREBONIUS
    Fled to his house
amazed
¹⁰⁵
.

Men, wives and children stare, cry out and run

As
¹⁰⁷
it were doomsday.

BRUTUS
    Fates, we will know your
pleasures
¹⁰⁸
.

That we shall die we know: ’tis but the
time
¹⁰⁹

And
drawing days out
that men
stand upon
¹¹⁰
.

CASCA
    Why, he that cuts off twenty years of life

Cuts off so many years of fearing death.

BRUTUS
    Grant that, and then is death a benefit:

So are we Caesar’s friends that have abridged

His time of fearing death. Stoop, Romans, stoop,

And let us bathe our hands in Caesar’s blood

Up to the elbows and besmear our swords:

Then walk we forth, even to the
market-place
¹¹⁸
,

And waving our red weapons o’er our heads,

Let’s all cry ‘Peace, freedom and liberty!’

CASSIUS
    Stoop, then, and wash. How many ages hence

Shall this our lofty scene be
acted over
¹²²
,

In states unborn and
accents
¹²³
yet unknown?

BRUTUS
    How many times shall Caesar bleed in sport

That now on
Pompey’s basis
lies
along
¹²⁵

No worthier than the dust?

CASSIUS
    So oft as that shall be,

So often shall the
knot
¹²⁸
of us be called

The men that gave their country liberty.

DECIUS
    What, shall we forth?

CASSIUS
    Ay, every man away.

Brutus shall lead, and we will
grace
¹³²
his heels

With the most boldest and best hearts of Rome.

BRUTUS
    
Soft
¹³⁴
, who comes here? A friend of Antony’s.

SERVANT
    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
¹³⁸
;

Caesar was mighty, bold, royal and loving.

Say I love Brutus and I honour him,

Say I
feared
¹⁴¹
Caesar, honoured him and loved him.

If Brutus will
vouchsafe
¹⁴²
that Antony

May safely come to him and
be resolved
¹⁴³

How Caesar hath deserved to lie in death,

Mark Antony shall not love Caesar dead

So well as Brutus living, but will follow

The fortunes and affairs of noble Brutus

Thorough
the hazards of this
untrod state
¹⁴⁸

With all true
faith
¹⁴⁹
. So says my master Antony.

BRUTUS
    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
¹⁵³
, and by my honour

Depart
untouched
¹⁵⁴
.

SERVANT
    I’ll fetch him
presently
¹⁵⁵
.

BRUTUS
    I know that we shall have him
well to
¹⁵⁶
friend.

CASSIUS
    I
wish
we may: but yet have I a
mind
¹⁵⁷

That
fears
him much, and my misgiving
still
¹⁵⁸

Falls
shrewdly
¹⁵⁹
to the purpose.

BRUTUS
    But here comes Antony.— Welcome, Mark Antony.

ANTONY
    O mighty Caesar! Dost thou lie so low?

Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs,
spoils
¹⁶²
,

Shrunk to this little
measure
¹⁶³
? Fare thee well.—

I know not, gentlemen, what you intend,

Who else must
be let blood
, who else is
rank
¹⁶⁵
:

If I myself, there is no hour so fit

As Caesar’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
¹⁷¹
and smoke,

Fulfil your pleasure.
Live
¹⁷²
a thousand years,

I shall not find myself so
apt
¹⁷³
to die.

No place will please me so, no
mean
¹⁷⁴
of death,

As here by Caesar, and by you
cut off
¹⁷⁵
,

The
choice
and
master
¹⁷⁶
spirits of this age.

BRUTUS
    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
¹⁸⁰
our hands

And this the bleeding business they have done:

Our hearts you see not: they are
pitiful
¹⁸²
,

And pity to the general wrong of Rome —

As fire drives out fire, so
pity pity
¹⁸⁴
—

Hath done this deed on Caesar. For your part,

To you our swords have
leaden
¹⁸⁶
points, Mark Antony:

Our arms
in strength of malice
¹⁸⁷
, and our hearts

Of brothers’ temper
, do
receive
¹⁸⁸
you in

With all
kind
¹⁸⁹
love, good thoughts and reverence.

CASSIUS
    Your
voice
¹⁹⁰
shall be as strong as any man’s

In the
disposing
of new
dignities
¹⁹¹
.

BRUTUS
    Only be patient till we have appeased

The
multitude
¹⁹³
, beside themselves with fear,

And then we will
deliver you
the
cause
¹⁹⁴

Why I, that did love Caesar when I struck him,

Have thus
proceeded
¹⁹⁶
.

ANTONY
    I doubt not of your wisdom.

Let each man
render
¹⁹⁸
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.—

Gentlemen all: alas, what shall I say?

My
credit
now stands on such
slipp’ry
²⁰⁵
ground

That one of two bad ways you must
conceit
²⁰⁶
me,

Either a coward or a flatterer.—

That I did love thee, Caesar, O, ’tis true:

If then thy spirit look upon us now,

Shall it not grieve thee
dearer
²¹⁰
than thy death

To see thy Antony making his peace,

Shaking the bloody fingers of thy foes?

Most noble
²¹³
in the presence of thy corpse,

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
²¹⁶

In terms of friendship with thine enemies.

Pardon me, Julius! Here wast thou
bayed
, brave
hart
²¹⁸
,

Here didst thou fall, and here thy hunters stand

Signed in
thy
spoil
and crimsoned in thy
Lethe
²²⁰
.—

O world, thou wast the forest to this hart,

And
this
²²²
indeed, O world, the heart of thee.—

How like a deer, strucken by many princes,

Dost thou here lie?

CASSIUS
    Mark Antony—

ANTONY
    Pardon me, Caius Cassius.

The enemies
²²⁷
of Caesar shall say this:

Then, in a friend, it is
cold modesty
²²⁸
.

CASSIUS
    I blame you not for praising Caesar so,

But what
compact
²³⁰
mean you to have with us?

Will you be
pricked
²³¹
in number of our friends,

Or shall we
on
²³²
, and not depend on you?

ANTONY
    
Therefore
²³³
I took your hands, but was indeed

Swayed from the point by looking down on Caesar.

Friends am I with you all, and love you all,

Upon this hope, that you shall give me reasons

Why and wherein Caesar was dangerous.

BRUTUS
    
Or else
²³⁸
were this a savage spectacle:

Our reasons are so full of
good regard
²³⁹

That were you, Antony, the son of Caesar,

You should be satisfied.

ANTONY
    That’s all I seek,

And am moreover suitor, that I may

Produce
²⁴⁴
his body to the market-place,

And in the pulpit, as becomes a friend,

Speak in the
order
²⁴⁶
of his funeral.

BRUTUS
    You shall, Mark Antony.

CASSIUS
    Brutus, a word with you.

You know not what you do. Do not consent

That Antony speak in his funeral:

Know you how much the people may be moved

By that which he will utter.

BRUTUS
    By your pardon:

I will myself into the pulpit first,

And show the reason of our Caesar’s death.

What Antony shall speak, I will
protest
²⁵⁶

He speaks by
leave
²⁵⁷
and by permission,

And that we are contented Caesar shall

Have all
true rites
²⁵⁹
and lawful ceremonies.

It shall advantage more than do us wrong.

CASSIUS
    I know not what may
fall
²⁶¹
. I like it not.