And then, I grant, we put a sting in him
That at his will he may do danger with.
The abuse of greatness is when it disjoins
Remorse from power; and, to speak truth of

Cæsar,

1

20

I have not known when his affections sway'd
More than his reason. But 'tis a common proof°
That lowliness is young ambition's 2 ladder,
Whereto the climber-upward turns his face;
But when he once attains the upmost round,
He then unto the ladder turns his back,
Looks in the clouds, scorning the base degrees°
By which he did ascend. So Cæsar may;
Then, lest he may, prevent. And, since the quarrel
Will bear no color for the thing he is,

Fashion it thus; that what he is, augmented,° 30
Would run to these and these extremities; 3

And therefore think him as a serpent's egg
Which hatch'd would as his kind grow mischievous,
And kill him in the shell.

Enter LUCIUS.

Luc. The taper burneth in your closet, sir.
Searching the window for a flint, I found
This paper thus seal'd up, and I am sure

1 "The chief danger in high position is that it sometimes makes the great man forget to be merciful." Remorse here means mercy, or pity.

2 Young ambition means the ambitious youth. What figure of speech? (See APPENDIX, p. 118.)

To just what extremities Brutus does not say; he is merely thinking out loud, and therefore not expressing himself very clearly. What is the general meaning of the speech?

4 What were flints used for?

It did not lie there when I went to bed.

Gives him the letter.

Bru. Get you to bed again; it is not day.

Is not to-morrow, boy, the ides of March?1
Luc. I know not, sir.

Bru. Look in the calendar and bring me word.
Luc. I will, sir.

Bru. The exhalations whizzing in the air

Give so much light that I may read by them.2

40

Exit.

Opens the letter and reads.
'Brutus, thou sleep'st. Awake and see thyself.
Shall Rome, &c.3 Speak, strike, redress!
Brutus, thou sleep'st. Awake!'

Such instigations have been often dropp'd
Where I have took them up.

50

'Shall Rome, &c.' Thus must I piece it out: Shall Rome stand under one man's awe? What,

Rome?

My ancestors did from the streets of Rome
The Tarquin drive, when he was call'd a king.
'Speak, strike, redress!' Am I entreated

To speak and strike? O Rome, I make thee promise,
If the redress will follow, thou receivest
Thy full petition at the hand of Brutus!

Enter LUCIUS.

Luc. Sir, March is wasted fifteen days.

Knock within.

1 To-morrow, of course, is the coming day,-to-day.

? The audience must imagine the "exhalations,”—meteors, or perhaps sheet lightning.

By reading further we find the "&c" must mean that Brutus cannot make out the writing in the bad light. (See lines 51-52.)

Bru. 'Tis good. Go to the gate;1 somebody knocks. 60
[Exit Lucius.]
Since Cassius first did whet° me against Cæsar
I have not slept.

Between the acting of a dreadful thing
And the first motion,° all the interim° is
Like a phantasma° or a hideous dream.
The Genius and the mortal instruments°
Are then in council, and the state of a man,
Like to a little kingdom, suffers then
The nature of an insurrection.°

Enter LUCIUS.

Luc. Sir, 'tis your brother Cassius 2 at the door,
Who doth desire to see you.

Bru.

Luc. No, sir, there are moe° with him.

Bru.

70

Is he alone?

Do you know them?

Luc. No, sir. Their hats are pluck'd about their ears,

Bru.

And half their faces buried in their cloaks,

*That by no means I may discover them
By any mark of favor.3

Let 'em enter.

They are the faction. O conspiracy,

Shamest thou to show thy dangerous brow by

night,

When evils are most free? O, then, by day
Where wilt thou find a cavern dark enough 80

1 Where on the stage of the Globe theater is the "gate"? In line 70 Lucius inadvertently calls it the door.

"Cassius had married Junia, Brutus's sister.

3 Favor again in its meaning of facial, or physical, appearance. • Consult the dictionary for faction.

To mask thy monstrous visage?1 Seek none, con

spiracy;

Hide it in smiles and affability;

For if thou path,° thy native semblance on,
Not Erebus itself were dim enough

To hide thee from prevention.°

Enter the conspirators, CASSIUS, CASCA, DECIUS, CINNA, METELLUS [CIMBER], and TREBONIUS.

Cas. I think we are too bold upon your rest.2

Good morrow, Brutus; do we trouble you?
Bru. I have been up this hour, awake all night.

Know I these men that come along with you?
Cas. Yes, every man of them; and no man here
But honors you; and every one doth wish
You had but that opinion of yourself
Which every noble Roman bears of you.
This is Trebonius.

Bru.

He is welcome hither.

He is welcome too.

Cas. This, Decius Brutus.

Bru.

90

Cas. This, Casca; this, Cinna; and this, Metellus

Cimber.

Bru. They are all welcome.

What watchful cares do interpose themselves

Betwixt your eyes and night?

Cas. Shall I entreat a word?

They whisper.3 ΙΟΟ

1 Visage. Consult the dictionary.

? Some necessary words are left out. What are they? Such an omission is called ellipsis. (Figures of Speech, APPENDIX, p. 119.) 3 While Brutus and Cassius whisper at one side of the stage the others discuss nothing more important than the place the sun is going to rise. Why do Brutus and Cassius need to have a whispered conference at all? Why do the others talk while the

Dec. Here lies the east. Doth not the day break here? Casca. No.

Cin. O, pardon, sir, it doth, and yon grey lines

IIO

That fret the clouds are messengers of day. Casca. You shall confess that you are both deceiv'd. Here, as I point my sword, the sun arises; Which is a great way growing on the south, Weighing the youthful season of the year. Some two months hence up higher toward the north He first presents his fire, and the high east Stands as the Capitol, directly here. Bru. Give me your hands all over, one by one. Cas. And let us swear our resolution. Bru. No, not an oath. If not the face of men,° The sufference of our souls, the time's abuse,If these be motives weak, break off betimes,° And every man hence to his idle bed; So let high-sighted tyranny range on 1 Till each man drop by lottery. But if these,2 As I am sure they do, bear fire enough

O

To kindle cowards and to steel with valor

120

The melting spirits of women, then, countrymen,
What need we any spur but our own cause
To prick us to redress? What other bond
Than secret Romans that have spoke the word,

conference is going on? Why, if something must be said, do they choose a subject so far removed from the all-important matter of the conspiracy, and Brutus's part in it? Look up the meaning of the word suspense, INTRODUCTION, Some Technical Terms Connected with the Drama, p. xvii.

1 This is a figure drawn from the language of falconry, or hawking, a sport popular in Elizabeth's day. The high-sighted bird ranged on, that is, flew far ahead, when he was under no restraint to return with his captive. See falconry in the dictionary for a complete description of the sport.

? These reasons.