Casca. (R). No.
Cin. (R). ^O, pardon, sir, it doth; and yon
gray lines
That fret the clouds are messengers of day.
Casca. (R). You shall confess that you are
both deceived.
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.
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 sufferance 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,
Till each man drop by lottery. But if these,
As I am sure they do, bear fire enough
To kindle cowards and to steel with valour
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 honesty to honesty engag'd.
67
^The conspirators gather round here and speak,
as if in the dead of night. Casca is the only one
who seems uninterested.
^There seems a strong undercurrent of conspiracy
in Decius.
68
JULIUS CiESAR
When every drop of blood^
That every Roman bears, and nobly bears,
Is guilty of a several bastardy,
If he do break the smallest particle
Of any promise that hath pass'd from him.
Cas. But what of Cicero? shall we sound him?
I think he will stand very strong with us.
Casca. Let us not leave him out.
^^^' No, by no means.
Met. O, let us have him, for his silver hairs
Will purchase us a good opinion
And buy men's voices to commend our deeds:
It shall be said, his judgment rul'd our hands;
Our youths and wildness shall no whit appear,
But all be buried in his gravity.
Bru. O, name him not: let us not break with
him;
For he will never follow any thing
That other men begin.
Cas. Then leave him out.
Casca. (R). Indeed he is not fit.
Dec. (i?).* Shall no man else be touch'd but
only Ctesar?
Cas. (R C). Decius, well urg'd: I think it is
not meet
69
^At mention of Antony all go around.
^Conspirators are differently disposed toward
Antony, hut more of them disliked him as vacillat-
ing. He was undoubtedly a politician to the back-
bone. Shakespeare in this play only makes An-
tony serious on one point; he did love Casar —
genuinely; on almost all other points he was a
humbug.
This is a pretty good summing up of Antonyms
character all through his career.
78
JULIUS C^SAR
Mark Antony/ so well belov'd of Csesar,
Should outliv^ Cassar: we shall find of him
A shrewd contriver; and, you know, his means,
If he improve them, may well stretch so far
As to annoy us all: which to prevent.
Let Antony and Csesar fall together.
Bru. {L C). Our course will seem too bloody,
Caius Cassius,^
To cut the head off and then hack the Hmbs,
Like wrath in death and envy afterward;
For Antony is but a limb of Csesar:
Let's be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius.
We all stand up against the spirit of Ccesar;
And in the spirit of men there is no blood:
O, that we then could come by Caesar's spirit.
And not dismember Caesar! But, alas,
Csesar must bleed for it! And, gentle friends,
Let's kill him boldly, but not wrathfully;
Let's carve him as a dish fit for the gods,
Not hew him as a carcass fit for hounds:
And let our hearts, as subtle masters do.
Stir up their servants to an act of rage.
And after seem to chide 'em. This shall make
Our purpose necessary and not envious:
Which so appearing to the common eyes,
71
^This clock strike is important; they should be
low, slow beats on a well-toned tube; no one must
speak or move till the third beat is well over.
^Cassius and the others all go up to R, some
crossing stage, putting their togas over heads.
72
JULIUS C^SAR
We shall be call'd purgers, not murderers.
And for Mark Antony, think not of him;
For he can do no more than Caesar's arm
When Caesar's head is off.
Cas. (R C). Yet I fear him;
For in the ingrafted love he bears to Csesar —
Bru. (L C). Alas, good Cassius, do not
think of him:
If he love Caesar, all that he can do
Is to himself, take thought and die for Caesar:
And that were much he should; for he is given
To sports, to wildness and much company.
Treb. There is no fear in him ; let him not die ;
For he will Uve, and laugh at this hereafter.
[Clock strikes^
Bru. Peace! count the clock.
Cas. The clock hath stricken three.
Treb. 'Tis time to part.
Cas.^ But it is doubtful yet,
Whether Caesar will come forth to-day, or no;
For he is superstitious grown of late,
Quite from the main opinion he held once
Of fantasy, of dreams and ceremonies:
Dec. Never fear that: if he. be so resolved,
I can o'ersway him;
73
^Brutus is moving up, to see them of his
premises.
^Metellus Cimber — young and sinister looking —
stops and calls attention to the omission of Caius
Ligarius; all stop and listen as he passes his re-
mark around.
74
JULIUS CJESAR
Let me work;
For I can give his humoui the true bent,
And I will bring him to the Capitol.
Cas. Nay, we will all of us be there to fetch
him.
Bru. By the eighth hour: is that the utter-
most?^
Cin. Be that the uttermost, and fail not then.
Met. (R).^ Caius Lio-arius — doth bear Caesar
hard.
Who rated him for speaking well of Pompey:
I wonder none of you have thought of him.
Bru. {L). Now, good Metellus, go along by
him:
He loves me well, and I have given him reasons;
Send him but thither, and I'll fashion him.
Cas. The morning comes upon 's: we'll leave
you, Brutus.
And, friends, disperse yourselves; but all re-
member
What you have said, and show yourselves true
Romans.
Bru. Good gentlemen, look fresh and mer-
rily;
Let not our looks put on our purposes,
75
^They all salute as they go out, quietly murmur-
ing conversation. Brutus closes the gate, pauses,
then comes down, goes to house, looks in and
quietly calls. He speaks all this meditation very
softly. His nature is really fine, only his public
life is uncertain. His calling has roused Portia,
who enters with head covered, and a big mantle
or wrap. It is a cold damp morning.
^Brutus is startled, confused, and partly afraid,
and during the next speech it is pretty clear that
the discerning woman's nature has half-detected
the plot.
^He leads her to seat C.
^She sits; he stands or sits by her if the seat is
large enough. It should be a stone seat.
^It is unnecessary to remind you that this is
Gate's daughter. It is remarkable how the small
JULIUS C^SAR
But bear it as our Roman actors do,
With untir'd spirits and formal constancy:
And so good morrow to you every one.
[Exeunt all but Brutus^
Boy! Lucius! Fast asleep? It is no matter;
Enjoy the honey-heavy dew of slumber:
Thou hast no figures nor no fantasies,
Which busy care draws in the brains of men:
Therefore thou sleep'st so sound.
Enter Portia from R
For. (R). Brutus, my lord!
Bru.^ Portia, what mean you? wherefore rise
you now?
It is not for your health thus to commit
Your weak condition in the raw cold morning.^
Por.^ Nor for yours neither.^ You've un-
gently, Brutus,
Stole from my bed: and yesternight, at supper,
You suddenly arose, and walk'd about,
Musing and sighing, with your arms across,
And when I ask'd you what the matter was.
You stared upon me with ungentle looks;
I urg'd you further; then you scratch'd your
head,
77
feminine interest oj this drama dominates the
underplot of the tragedy, because the two women
are so noble.
^This is a fib.
^What a kindly rebuke.
^Brutus rises; he cannot stand cross-questioning;
conspirators rarely can.
78
JULIUS C^SAR
And too impatiently stamp'd with your foot;
Yet I insisted; yet you answer'd not,
But, with an angry wafture of your hand,
Gave sign for me to leave you : so I did;
Fearing to strengthen that impatience
Which seem'd too much enkindled, and withal
Hoping it was but an effect of humour.
Which sometime hath his hour with every man.
It will not let you eat, nor talk, nor sleep.
And could it work so much upon your shape
As it hath much prevail'd on your condition,
I should not know you, Brutus. Dear my lord.
Make me acquainted with your cause of grief.
Bru.^ I am not well in health, and that is
all.
Por.^ Brutus is wise, and, were he not in
health,
He would embrace the means to come by it.
Bru.^ Why, so I do. Good Portia, go to bed.
Por. Is Brutus sick? and is it physical
To walk unbraced and suck up the humours
Of the dank morning? What, is Brutus sick.
And will he steal out of his wholesome bed,
To dare the vile contagion of the night
And tempt the rheumy and unpurged air
79
^Brutus naturally turns away confused to R C;
Portia rises and follows him.
^She kneels: Brums would prevent her hut she
persists.
^This strikes home. Brutus starts as if it were
impossible that the conference were overheard.
^He tries hard to lift her from her knees.
^It is possible this word was '^ kneel," but she rises
and almost exhausted sits again on bench; Brutus
tries to soothe her.
^These two great people adored each other.
Brutus, no longer able to resist the appeal of such a
noble woman, takes her lovingly and with a
great outburst to his heart.
Note. — The neglect of Shakespeare by the women
of to-day has often occurred to me as pitiful:
No man since the Evangelist has so exalted woman
and placed her right in the world's affairs, public
and domestic, as this great Dramatist.
80
JULIUS C^SAR
To add unto his sickness?^ No, my Brutus;
You have some sick offence within your mind,
Which, by the right and virtue of my place,
I ought to know of; and, upon my knees,^
I charm you, by my once-commended beauty,
By all your vows of love and that great vow
Which did incorporate and make us one.
That you unfold to me, yourself, your half.
Why you are heavy, and what men to-night
Have had resort to you:^ for here have been
Some six or seven, who did hide their faces
Even from darkness.
Bru. Kneel not, gentle Portia.*
For. I should not need,^ if you were gentle
Brutus.
Within the bond of marriage, tell me, Brutus,
Is it excepted I should know no secrets
That appertain to you? Am I yourself
But, as it were, in sort or limitation.
To keep with you at meals, comfort your bed,
And talk to you sometimes? Dwell I but in the
suburbs
Of your good pleasure? If it be no more,
Portia is Brutus' harlot, not his wife.
Bru.^ You are my true and honourable wife.
8i
'^She remains in his embrace all through this
speech.
Note. — In men's colleges these two women,
Calpurnia and Portia, should never he omitted, as
I understand is the case in some institutions.
^Be very careful; the knocks — like those in
"Macbeth'^ — come exactly at the right moment.
Brutus should kiss Portia, say, counting six; then
the knock. They must not separate quickly or
the audience, wrought up to emotion by the scene,
will laugh. The kiss is on the forehead. _
Note. — One must always remember, in such sit-,
nations, that about three quarters of an audience are
inclined to be too critical; — often hysterical; and
unfortunately, often very stupid. It is the part of
the actors to endeavour to make them live down this
feeling.
'^Lucius has now dressed and comes to the door;
just before Portia goes R he stands aside to let her
pass in R. Brutus waits for Lucius to open the
gate, going up L to recover himself ; Lucius , boy-
like, is unwilling to admit the sick man, but he
does so when Brutus observes who his visitor is.
82
JULIUS C^SAR
As dear to me as are the ruddy drops
That visit my sad heart.
Por.^ If this were true, then should I know
this secret.
I grant I am a woman; but withal
A woman that Lord Brutus took to wife:
I grant I am a woman; but withal
A woman well-reputed, Cato's daughter.
Think you I am no stronger than my sex,
Being so father'd and so husbanded?
Tell me your counsels, I will not disclose ^em:
I have made strong proof of my constancy,
Giving myself a voluntary wound
Here, in the thigh: can I bear that with patience,
And not my husband's secrets?
Bru. O ye gods.
Render me worthy of this noble wife!
[Knocking within^
Hark, hark! one knocks: Portia, go in awhile;
And by and by thy bosom shall partake
The secrets of my heart.
All my engagements I will construe to thee.
All the charactery of my sad brows:
Leave me with haste. {Exit Portia R.) Lucius,'
who's that knocks?
83
^Ligarius is a very feeble man, with a white
bandage close around his head; he leans on a staff
^Brutus tries to seat Ligarius, but by an effort
of will he remains standing, leaning on Brutus.
^Here he throws down his staff toward footlights ,
and then clings to Brutus. Always be careful not to
let a staff or sword rebound; throw it from you flat
on to the ground.
^Brutus very intense, having deceived his wife;
the spirit of conspiracy is strong in him.
84
JULIUS CiESAR
Re-enter Lucius with Ligarius
Luc. {Up K). Here is a sick man that would
speak with you.
Bru. Caius Ligarius, that Metellus spake of.
Boy, stand aside. Caius Ligarius! how?
Lig .(R)} Vouchsafe good morrow from a
feeble tongue.
Bru. (L C).^ O, what a time have you chose
out, brave Caius,
To wear a kerchief! Would you were not sick!
Lig. (C). I am not sick, if Brutus have in
hand
Any exploit worthy the name of honour.
Bru. {L C). Such an exploit have I in hand,
Ligarius,
Had you a healthful ear to hear of it.
Lig. By all the gods that Romans bow before,
I here discard my sickness!^ Soul of Rome!
Brave son, deriv'd from honourable loins!
Thou, like an exorcist, hast conjur'd up
My mortified spirit. Now bid me run,
And I will strive with things impossible;
Yea, get the better of them. What's to do?
Bru.'^ A piece of work that will make sick
men whole.
8s
^Ligarius has got this from Cimber.
^A tremendous energy here.
^Brutus picks up the staff and gives it to him;
he then crosses to house R as if to look for Portia;
hesitates a moment, then meets Ligarius R C, and
they go up together; Lucius regretfully goes into
house.
Thunder at change of scene.
The scene should be a pillared corridor, very
simple; two ornamental but easily carried stools
should be placed L C by two attendants in Roman
dress. The same in Elizabethan manner, except
that Brutus^ seat must be removed before the stools
are placed, the change of furniture indicating
a change of locality.
85
JULIUS C/ESAR
Lig.^ But are not some whole that we must
make sick?
Bru. That must we also. What it is, my
Caius,
I shall unfold to thee, as we are going
To whom it must be done. [Thunder, distantly
Lig} Set on your foot,
And with a heart new-fir'd I follow you,
To do I know not what: but it sufficeth
That Brutus leads me on.
Bru.^ Follow me, then. [Exeunt up R
Scene II. Cesar's house
Thunder and lightning. Enter C^sar (R) in his
nightgown (the nightgown is an over-robe)
Cas. Nor heaven nor earth have been at
peace to-night:
Thrice hath Calpurnia in her sleep cried out,
"Help! ho! they murther Csesar!" Who's with-
in? {Crosses to L C.)
Enter a Servant R
Serv. (R). My lord?
87
'^The servant turns and sees Calpurnia and
stands aside to let her pass.
^Ccesar puts Calpurnia round to the stool C to
Z, then sits himself on the stool C to R.
Note. — Always avoid two persons sitting down
together at the same moment.
JULIUS C^.SAR
C(ES. Go bid the priests do present sacrifice;
And bring me their opinions of success.
Serv. I will, my lord.^ ]ExU R
Enter Calpurnia R
Cat. (R). What mean you, Csesar? think
you to walk forth?
You shall not stir out of your house to-day.
(Crosses to RC).
Cces. (Crosses to C). Caesar shall forth: the
things that threaten'd me
Ne'er look'd but on my back; when they shall
see
The face of Caesar,^ they are vanished.
Cal. (Sits). Cassar, I never stood on cere-
monies,
Yet now they fright me. Theie is one within,
Besides the things that we have heard and seen,
Recounts most horrid sights seen by the watch.
A lioness hath whelped in the streets;
And graves have yawn'd, and yielded up their
dead;
The noise of battle hurtled in the air.
Horses did neigh, and d3dng men did groan,
^Puts her hands on him.
^Ccssar appeals to the gods with right hand.
90
JXJLIUS C^SAR
And ghosts did shriek and squeal about the
streets. {Casar sits)
O Csesar!^ these things are beyond all use,
And I do fear them
Goes. What can he avoided
Whose end is purposed by the mighty gods?^
Yet Caesar shall go forth; for these predictions
Are to the world in general as to Caesar.
Cal. When beggars die, there are no comets
seen;
The heaA^ens themselves blaze forth the death of
princes,
CcBS. Cowards die many times hejdre their
deaths;
The vahant never taste of death but once.
Of all the wonders that I yet have heard,
It seems to me most strange that men should fear;
Seeing that death, a necessary end,
Will come when it will come.
Re-enter Servant R
What say the augurers?
Serv. They would not have you to stir forth
to-day:
Plucking the entrails of an offering forth.
They could not find a heart within the beast.
91
^CcBsar has no fear of superstition. It is better
for CcBsar and his wife to remain seated during this
scene; it is their own house and gives the idea of
kingship to themselves.
^Calpurnia kneels as Portia has knelt {and as
prodahly Pilate's wife knelt) . Had they ultimately
prevailed, the tide of the world had been changed, and
the second worst crime in history probably averted.
^Ccesar raises her; then caresses her. Decius
probably notices the caress and tries to work upon
it presently. What a master of stage art and
human artifice our Dramatist is.
^Decius' salute is meant for both.
92
JULIUS C^SAR
Ccss.^ The gods do this in shame of cow-
ardice :
Caesar should be a beast without a heart,
If he should stay at home to-day for fear.
No, Ceesar shall not: danger knows full well
That Caesar is more dangerous than he:
We are two Hons htter'd in one day,
And I the elder and more terrible:
And Caesar shall go forth. [Servant goes off R
Cat. (rises). Alas, my lord,
Your wisdom is consum'd in confidence.
Do not go forth to-day: call it my fear
That keeps you in the house, and not your own.
We'll send Mark Antony to the senate-house;
And he shall say you are not well to-day:
Let me, upon my knee,^ prevail in this.
CcBs.^ Mark Antony shall say I am not well;
And, for thy humour, I will stay at home.
Enter Decius R
Here's Decius Brutus, he shall tell them so.
Dec. (R). Caesar, all hail! good morrow,
worthy Caesar.^
I come to fetch you to the senate-house.
93
Wecius approaches nearer to R C.
^Ccesar is very sure of himself here; Calpurnia
is pleased.
Wecius a little closer.
^Ccesar is humorous.
94
JULIUS CyESAR
CcBS. And you are come in very happy time,
[Ccesar sits
To bear my greetings to the senators
And tell them that I will not come to-day:
[Calpurnia remains L C
Cannot is false, and that I dare not, falser:
I will not come to-day: tell them so, Decius.
Cal. Say he is sick. She sits again
Cess. Shall Csesar send a lie?
Have I in conquest stretch'd mine arm so far,
To be afeard to tell graybeards the truth?
Decius, go tell them, Caesar will not come.
Dec} (R). Most mighty Caesar, let me know
some cause,
Lest I be laugh'd at when I tell them so.
CcBs.^ The cause is in my will: I will not
come;
That is enough to satisfy the senate.
But for your private satisfaction,
Because I love you,' I will let you know:
Calpurnia here, my wife, stays me at home:
She dreamt to-night she saw my statue,^
Which, like a fountain with an hundred spouts.
Did run pure blood; and many lusty Romans
Came smiUng, and did bathe their hands in it:
95
^Decius is almost amused and takes this speech
lightly.
^He almost waits to see the e^ect!
96
JULIUS C^SAR
And these does she apply for warnings, and
portents,
And evils imminent; and on her knee
Hath begg'd that I will stay at home to-day.
Dec} This dream is all amiss interpreted;
It was a vision fair and fortunate:
Your statue spouting blood in many pipes,
In which so many smiling Romans bath'd,
Signifies that from you great Rome shall suck
Reviving blood, and that great men shall press
For tinctures, stains, relics and cognizance.
This by Calpurnia's dream is signified.^
C(BS. And this way have you well ex-
pounded it.
Dec. I have. When you have heard what
I can say:
And know it now, the senate have concluded
To give this day a crown to mighty Ceesar.^
If you shall send them word you will not come,
Their minds may change. Besides it were a
mock;
Apt to be rendered, for some one to say,
Break up the senate, till another time.
When Caesar's wife shall meet with better
dreams.
97
JULIUS CiESAR
Pardon me Caesar; for my dear, dear love
To your proceeding bids me tell you this,
And reason to your love is liable.
C(BS. How foolish do your fears seem now,
Calpurnia.
I am ashamed I did yield to them.
Give me my robe — for I will go.
{The servant puts on his purple robe.)
Then enter Publius, then Brutus, Casca,
LiGARius, CiNNA, Metellus, Trebonius, all
from R.
And look where Publius is come to fetch me.
Pub. Good morrow Caesar. {Salutes him.)
Cces. Welcome Publius — {Salutes him)
What, Brutus, are you stirred so early too!
Good morrow Casca: Caius Ligarius, Cassar
was ne'er so much your enemy
As that same ague which hath made you
lean.
What is 't o'clock?
Bru. Caesar 'tis strucken eight.
Cces. I thank you for your pains and
courtesies
{All salute again. The senators remain R.)
99
^Antony hastens to Ccesar at R C; he salutes
CcBsar very openly, which makes the other senators
notice it.
^Calptirnia makes quite a queenly exit, going
between the senators, who stand in single file; she
bows right and left to them as she exits; another
cause of annoyance. Great men, especially poli-
ticians, often have very small minds. Ccesar almost
waves these salutations to the various senators;
then is deeply engrossed in conversation with An-
tony, who is rather amused at the situation. He
goes across on Antonyms arm and bows much in
the same manner that Calpurnia did. The dis-
inclination of senators to treat a ruler with respect
— fearing he might assume dictatorship — exists
even to-day in some countries.
JULIUS C^SAR
Enter Antony from R quickly:
See! Antony, that revels long o'nights,
Is notwithstanding up. Good morrow, Antony.
Ant} So to most noble Csesar.
CcBS. Bid them prepare within:
[Exit Calpurnia^ across and of R
I am to blame to be thus waited for.
Now, Cinna: now, Metellus: what, Trebonius!
I have an hour's talk in store for you;
Remember that you call on me to-day:
Be near me, that I may remember you,
Treb. {Extreme R) . Caesar, I will: [^^i^^e] and
so near will I be,
That your best friends shall wish I had been
further.
C(£s. Good friends, go in, and taste some
wine with me;
And we, like friends, will straightway go to-
gether.
[Exeunt R, senators following.
Bru. [Aside ^ That every like is not the
same, O Cassar,
The heart of Brutus yearns to think upon!
[They exeunt, talking R, Brutus slowly following.
The scene would he the same street as used before.
Special Note. — // a scenic performance the
next scenes had better be omitted; they are valuable,
hut only as showing the watchful love of Portia
and Lucius. Artemidorus has one of the scrolls
similar to Cassius'. He has possibly watched
his conspiracy. The incident is useful as showing
the counter conspiracy of the factions.
^Poor little Lucius wants to run off L, hut seeing
a great crowd assembled off in that direction he is
uncertain if he should leave Portia.
The distant crowds are assembling off L; you
can just hear them. Be careful to make these
distant crowds effective.
JULIUS CESAR
Scene III. A street near the Capital
Enter Artemidorus, reading a paper, from R,
crosses to L
Art. Caesar, beware of Brutus; take heed of Cassius;
come not near Casca; have an eye to Cinna; trust not
Trebonius; mark well Metellus Cimber: Decius Brutus
loves thee not: thou hast wronged Caius Ligarius. There
is but one mind in all these men, and it is bent against
Caesar. If thou beest not immortal, look about you;
security gives way to conspiracy. The mighty gods defend
thee! Thy lover, Artemidorus.
Here will I stand till Caesar pass along,
And as a suitor will I give him this.
My heart laments that virtue cannot live
Out of the teeth of emulation.
If you read this, O Cassar, thou mayst live;
If not, the Fates with traitors do contrive.