Bru.

What, thou speak'st drowsily?

Poor knave 1, I blame thee not; thou art o'erwatched.2

Call Claudius, and some other of my men :

I'll have them sleep on cushions in

Luc. Varro, and Claudius!

my tent.

Enter VARRO and CLAUDIUS.

Var. Calls my lord?

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

It may be, I shall raise you by and by

On business to my brother Cassius.

Var. So please you, we will stand, and watch your plea

sure.

Bru. I will not have it so: lie down, good sirs;

It may be, I shall otherwise bethink me.

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

I put it in the pocket of my gown.

[Servants lie down.

Luc. I was sure your lordship did not give it me. Bru. Bear with me, good boy, I am much forgetful. Canst thou hold up thy heavy eyes awhile,

And touch thy instrument a strain 3 or two?

Luc. Ay, my lord, an it please you.4
Bru.

It does, my boy:

I trouble thee too much, but thou art willing.

Poor knave.] The word knave, of Anglo-Saxon origin, meant at first a boy or servant, and came to acquire its unfavourable meaning probably from cunning being often found in servants, and even encouraged in them by their masters. Shakspeare uses the word in both ways; compare Act i. sc. 1, 'Thou naughty knave.'

2 O'erwatched.] Kept too long watching, or in wakeful attend

ance.

3 A strain.] Objective governed by in, with, or some other understood preposition.

• An it please you.] See note 6, p. 24.

Luc. It is my duty, sir.

Bru. I should not urge thy duty past thy might; I know young bloods look for a time of rest.

Luc. I have slept, my lord, already.

Bru. It was well done; and thou shalt sleep again; I will not hold thee long: if I do live,

I will be good to thee.

[Music, and a Song. This is a sleepy tune: O murderous slumber! 1 Lay'st thou thy leaden mace upon my boy,

That plays thee music?-Gentle knave, good night;
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, good night.
Let me see, let me see:

Is not the leaf turned down

Where I left reading?

Here it is, I think. [He sits down.

Enter the Ghost of CÆSAR.

How ill this taper burns! 2-Ha! who comes here?
I think it is the weakness of mine eyes

That shapes this monstrous apparition.

It comes upon me:

-Art thou anything?

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

That mak'st my blood cold, and my hair to stare ? 3
Speak to me what thou art.

4

10 murderous slumber.] The boy falls asleep while playing on the instrument, and Brutus calls slumber murderous for having as it were laid the youth dead asleep with the heavy leaden mace which is the figurative emblem of Sleep's dominion.

2 How ill this taper burns.] North's words, in the Life of Cæsar, are- -Looking towards the light of the lamp, that waxed very dim, he saw a horrible vision.' See also Extr. from Plutarch, 50.

To stare.] To stand out. The word in this sense is now obsolete.. Speak.] To speak, meaning to describe, is of frequent occurrence in Shakspeare.

Ghost. Thy evil spirit, Brutus.'

Bru.

Why com'st thou ?

Ghost. To tell thee; thou shalt see me at Philippi.

Bru. Well: Then I shall see thee again?

Ghost.

Ay, at Philippi.

[Ghost vanishes.

Bru. Why, I will see thee 2 at Philippi then.-
Now I have taken heart thou vanishest 3:

Ill spirit, I would hold more talk with thee.-
Boy! Lucius !-Varro! Claudius! Sirs, awake!—
Claudius!

Luc. The strings, my lord, are false.

Bru. He thinks he still is at his instrument. Lucius, awake!

Luc. My lord.

Bru. Didst thou dream, Lucius, that thou so criedst out?

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

Bru. Yes, that thou didst : didst thou see anything?

Luc. Nothing, my lord.

Bru. Sleep again, Lucius.-Sirrah, Claudius!

Fellow thou! awake!

Var. My lord.

Clau. My lord.

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

Var., Clau. Did we, my lord?

Bru.

Ay; saw you anything?

Var. No, my lord, I saw nothing.

1 Thy evil spirit.] Shakspeare makes the ghost of Cæsar appear as the representative of the evil genius of Brutus.

2 I will see thee.] Will is here meant to be emphatic, as denoting that courage to which Brutus refers in the next line.

3 Now I have taken heart.] Now that thou vanishest I have taken heart.

Clau.

Nor I, my

lord.

Bru. Go, and commend me to my brother Cassius; Bid him set on his powers betimes before,

And we will follow.

Var., Clau. It shall be done, my lord.

[Exeunt.

ACT V.

SCENE I.-The Plains of Philippi.

Enter OCTAVIUS, ANTONY, and their Army.
Oct. Now, Antony, our hopes are answered:
You said the enemy would not come down,
But keep the hills and upper regions;

2

1

It proves not so: their battles are at hand;
They mean to warn us at Philippi here,
Answering before we do demand of them.

Ant. Tut, I am in their bosoms 3, and I know
Wherefore they do it: they could be content
To visit other places; and come down
With fearful bravery, thinking by this face,
To fasten in our thoughts that they have courage;
But 't is not so.

Enter a Messenger.

Mess.

Prepare you, generals:

The enemy comes on in gallant show;

1 Their battles.] Their embattled forces; their battalions. Milton often uses the noun battle in this sense.

2 To warn us.] To summon us to our defence here at Philippi, thus answering what we wish without any asking.

3 I am in their bosoms.] I know their thoughts.

They could be content.] They would be very glad to go somewhere else; and they come down with fearful hearts under a brave exterior, thinking by this show to impress us with the idea that they have courage; but they have it not.