~^ZZS££Xr^ZZ« been late.y some

courage and energy, much valued by the Romans ot mat y,

like Brutus, be hampered J^f^^^^^c^W^
would think any means right by which it might be gamea ^

S^HJ^SS^-S P™ were themse.ves far from

a The 15th of the month.



158 SHAKESPEARE FOR THE YOUNG FOLK.

popular. There was therefore not a little danger connected with their enterprise.
So it became a matter of importance to them to obtain some one who " sat
high in all the people's hearts," to lead their cause, and to stand between them
and the judgment of the multitude. It was for this that Cassius fixed his keen
eye on Brutus, — standing moody and lost in thought, — as a man who should by
all means be won over to the conspiracy ; and he now drew near, and began with
words of friendly complaint.

" Brutus," he said, " you are changed of late. I have not from you that gen-
tleness and show of love that I was wont to have. You are too cold and distant
to your friend who loves you."

" It is not, Cassius, that I love you less," answered the noble Brutus. " Some
troubles I have, some anxious thoughts, which belong only to myself. If these
have seemed to change my outward behavior, think only, I pray you, that poor
Brutus, with himself at war, forgets to show his love to other men."

" O Brutus, would that you had some mirror which might reflect your real
worth unto yourself. I have often heard it wished by some of the greatest men
in Rome, groaning under the burdens of this age, that the noble Brutus could but
see himself as others see him."

" Into what dangers would you lead me, Cassius, that you would have me look
into myself for that which is not in me ? "

" Well, good Brutus, hear me. I will be your mirror, and will show you to
yourself. And do not view me with suspicion, gentle friend ; but, remember, I
am serious-minded, like yourself, and not one of those fickle, boasting revellers
whom you might fear to trust."

Just at this moment a great shout is heard from the feast of the Lupercalia,
whither the procession and the crowd have gone, and the patriot Brutus, now
thoroughly aroused, betrays the nature of his secret anxiety by exclaiming, —

What means this shouting? I do fear the people
Choose Caesar for their king !

This is the tempter's opportunity, and he seizes it : —

Ay, do you fear it ?
Then must I think you would not have it so.

Then Cassius breaks forth into a thoroughly hearty strain of hatred and con-
tempt, thinly disguised as patriotism : —

I cannot tell what you and other men

Think of this life ; but, for my single self,

I had as lief not be as live to be

In awe of such a thing as I myself.

I was born free as Caesar ; so were you :



JULIUS CESAR. i$g

We both have fed as well ; and we can both

Endure the winter's cold as well as he :

For once, upon a raw and gusty day,

The troubled Tiber chafing with her shores,

Cassar said to me, " Darest thou, Cassius, now

Leap in with me into this angry flood,

And swim to yonder point ? " — Upon the word,

Accoutred as I was, I plunged in,

And bade him follow : so, indeed, he did.

The torrent roared, and we did buffet it

With lusty sinews, throwing it aside,

And stemming it with hearts of controversy, 11

But ere we could arrive b the point proposed,

Caesar cried, " Help me, Cassius, or I sink."

I, as yEneas, our great ancestor,

Did from the flames of Troy upon his shoulder

The old Anchises bear, so from the waves of Tiber

Did I the tired Caesar. And this man

Is now become a god ; and Cassius is

A wretched creature, and must bend his body,

If Caesar carelessly but nod on him.

He had a fever when he was in Spain,

And, when the fit was on him, I did mark

How he did shake : 't is true, this god did shake:

His coward lips did from their color fly ;

And that same eye, whose bend 1 doth awe the world,

Did lose its lustre. I did hear him groan;

Ay, and that tongue of his, that bade the Romans

Mark him, and write his speeches in their books,

Alas ! it cried, " Give me some drink, Titinius,"

As a sick girl. Ye gods, it doth amaze me,

A man of such a feeble temper 2 should

So get the start of the majestic world,

And bear the palm alone.

Here the conversation was interrupted by another burst of tremendous shout-
ing, followed by a triumphant flourish of trumpets, from the games of the Luper-
calia. Brutus listened anxiously for a moment, then frowned, and said, —

Another general shout !
I do believe that these applauses are
For some new honors that are heaped on Caesar.

1 Glance. * 2 Temperament, disposition.

a That is, with contending, or courageous hearts.
b Old form for arrive at, etc.



l6o SHAKESPEARE FOR THE YOUNG FOLK.

Cassius. Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world,
Like a Colossus ; a and we petty men
Walk under his huge legs, and peep about
To find ourselves dishonorable graves.
Men at some time are masters of their fates :
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, b
But in ourselves, that we are underlings.
Brutus and Ccesar : what should be in that Ccesar ?
Why should that name be sounded more than yours ?
Write them together, yours is as fair a name ;
Sound them, it doth become the mouth as well ;
Weigh them, it is as heavy ; conjure with them,
Brutus will start a spirit as soon as Casar.
Now, in the names of all the gods at once,
Upon what meat doth this our Caesar feed,
That he is grown so great ? Age, thou art shamed :
Rome, thou hast lost the breed of noble bloods !
When went there by an age, since the great flood,
But it was famed with more than with one man ?
When could they say, till now, that talked of Rome,
That her wide walls encompassed but one man ?
O, you and I have heard our fathers say
There was a Brutus once, that would have brooked 1
The eternal devil to keep his state in Rome,
As easily as a king.

This was a master stroke on the part of Cassius. The Brutus here alluded to
was Lucius Junius Brutus, who had headed the revolution that drove the first
kings out of Rome more than five hundred years before. This Brutus considered
himself a descendant of that one ; and such a man would desire to be worthy of
a noble ancestry. After a few moments of troubled silence, he replied, —

What you have said,
I will consider ; what you have to say,
I will with patience hear, and find a time
Both meet to hear and answer such high things.
Till then, my noble friend, [reflect on] this :
Brutus had rather be a villager
Than to repute himself a son of Rome

1 Endured.

a The Colossus was one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It was a bronze statue,
a hundred and twenty feet high, bestriding the harbor at Rhodes, so that ships passed under
its legs.

b Our stars — Astrology, in the olden time, taught that the stars had an influence on the
fortunes of men.



JULIUS CAESAR. l6l

Under such hard conditions as this time
Is like to lay upon us.

Cassius. I am glad that my weak words

Have struck but thus much show of fire from Brutus.

Brutus. The games are done, and Caesar is returning.
* Cassius. As they pass by, pluck Casca by the sleeve ;
And he will, after his sour fashion, tell you
What hath proceeded worthy note to-day.

Re-enter Gesar and his Train.

Brutus. I will do so. — But, look you, Cassius ;
The angry spot doth glow on Caesar's brow,
And all the rest look like a [scolded] train.
Calphurnia's cheek is pale ; and Cicero
Looks with such ferret a and such fiery eyes,
As we have seen him in the Capitol,
[When] crossed in conference by some senator.

Cassius. Casca will tell us what the matter is.

The procession now passed through the square, at a little distance from where
the two citizens stood conversing. Caesar appeared for some reason discontented,
and presently, as his eye fell upon the spare form and lowering looks of Cassius,
he called Mark Antony to his side.

C&sar. Antonius !

Antony, Caesar ?

Ccesar. Let me have men about me that are fat ;
Sleek-headed men, and such as sleep o' nights.
Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look ;
He thinks too much : such men are dangerous. b

Antony. Fear him not, Caesar, he 's not dangerous.
He is a noble Roman, and well given. 1

Caesar. Would he were fatter ! but I fear him not :
Yet, if my name were liable to fear,
I do not know the man I should avoid
So soon as that spare Cassius. He reads much ;
He is a great observer, and he looks
Quite through the deeds of men : he loves no plays,
As thou dost, Antony ; he hears no music :
Seldom he smiles, and smiles in such a sort,

1 Disposed.

a The ferret is a ferocious little animal of the weasel kind, noted for its fire-red eyes.

b According to Plutarch, Caesar actually made use of this language. He said, in answer
to some friends, who warned him against Antony and Dolabella as dangerous, " As for those
fat men and smooth-combed heads, I never reckon of them ; but these pale-visaged and car-
rion-lean people, I fear them most," — meaning Brutus and Cassius, adds the historian.



l62



SHAKESPEARE FOR THE YOUNG FOLK.



As if he mocked himself, and scorned his spirit
That could be moved to smile at anything.
Such men as he be never at heart's ease>
While they behold a greater than themselves,
And therefore are they very dangerous.
I rather tell thee what is to be feared,
Than what I fear, for always I am Caesar.
Come on my right hand, for this ear is deaf,
And tell me truly what thou think'st of him.

So the train passed on ; but Casca, an enemy of Caesar, and one who con-
cealed under a rude and careless manner a deeply dangerous disposition, in obe-
dience to a sign from Brutus remained behind.

Casca. You pulled me by the cloak : would you speak with me ?
Brutus. Ay, Casca ; tell us what hath chanced to-day,
That Caesar looks so [grave].




Casca. Why, you were with him, were you not?
Brutus. I should not then ask Casca what hath chanced.

Casca. Why, there was a crown offered him : and, being offered him, he put it by
with the back of his hand, thus ; and then the people fell a shouting.



JULIUS C/ESAR. 163

Brutus. What was the second noise for ?

Cnsca. Why, for that too.

Cassius. They shouted thrice : what was the last cry for ?

Casca. Why, for that too.

Brutus. Was the crown offered him thrice ?

Casca. Ay, marry, was it, and he put it by thrice, every time gentler than the
other ; and at every putting-by mine honest neighbors shouted.

Cassius. Who offered him the crown ?

Casca. Why, Antony.

Brutus. Tell us the manner of it, gentle Casca.

Casca. I can as well be hanged, as tell the manner of it : it was mere foolery ; I
did not mark it. I saw Mark Antony offer him a crown : — yet 't was not a crown
neither, 't was one of these coronets, 1 — and, as I told you, he put it by once: but, for
all that, to my thinking, he would fain have had it. Then he offered it to him again ;
then he put it by again : but, to my thinking, he was very loth to lay his fingers
off it. And then he offered it the third time : he put it the third time by ; and still, as
he refused it, the rabblement shouted, and clapped their chopped hands, and threw
up their [dirty] caps, and uttered such a deal of [bad] breath, because Caesar refused
the crown, that it had almost choked Caesar ; for he swooned, and fell down at
it. And for mine own part I durst not laugh, for fear of opening my lips, and receiv-
ing the bad air.

Cassius. What ! did Caesar swoon ?

Casca. He fell down in the market-place, and foamed at mouth, and was
speechless.

Brutus. 'T is very like ; he hath the falling-sickness. b

Cassius. No, Caesar hath it not ; but you, and I,

And honest Casca, we have the falling-sickness.

Casca. I know not what you mean by that ; but, I am sure, Caesar fell down.

Brutus. What said he, when he came unto himself ?

Casca. When he came to himself again, he said, if he had done or said anything
amiss, he desired their worships to think it was his infirmity. Three or four wenches,
where I stood, cried, " Alas, good soul ! " — and forgave him with all their hearts.
But there 's no heed to be taken of them : if Caesar had stabbed their mothers, they
would have done no less.

Brutus. And after that, he came thus sad away ?

Casca. Ay. — I could tell you more news, too : Marullus and Flavius, for pulling
scarfs off Caesar's images, are put to silence. 4 Fare you well: there was more foolery
yet, if I could remember it.

Cassius. Will you sup with me to-night, Casca ?

Casca. No, I am [engaged].

Cassius. Will you dine with me to-morrow ?

a It has been suggested that Cassar allowed this offer to be made, to test the people.
b Epilepsy; a disease which causes those who suffer from it to fall suddenly to the
ground. Caesar was subject to it in his later years.

Meaning the disease of prostrating themselves before Caesar.
4 Deprived of their offices.



164 SHAKESPEARE FOR THE YOUNG FOLK.

Casca. Ay, if I be alive, and your mind hold, and your dinner worth the eating.
Cassius. Good ; I will expect you.
Casca. Do so. Farewell, both.

After Casca had left, Brutus said with a smile, —

What a [dull] fellow is this grown to be !

He was quick [witted] when he went to school.

Cassucs. So is he now, in execution
Of any bold or noble enterprise.
This rudeness is a sauce to his good wit.

Bmtiis. And so it is. For this time I will leave you.
To-morrow, if you please to speak with me,
I will come home to you; or, if you will,
Come home to me, and I will wait for you.

Cassius. I will do so : — till then, think of the world.

Brutus went away, thinking of the Roman world, which seemed to him to be
resting under a dark cloud, and left the brooding Cassius to himself. Cassius smiled
grimly, as he thought how easily he was moulding this noble Roman to his wish
by simply playing on his better nature, — his love of country and of liberty, — and
on his weaknesses of personal vanity and pride of ancestry. Still; it was needful
to be cautious, because of the great love Brutus was known to bear to Caesar ; but
if the patriot could be made to feel that Caesar was wronging Rome, it might be
possible to win him. Musing on this, Cassius said, —

I will this night
In at his windows throw (in several hands,
As if they came from several citizens)
Writings, all tending to the great opinion
That Rome holds of his name ; wherein obscurely
Caesar's ambition shall be glanced at :
And, after this, let Caesar seat him sure,
For we will shake him, or worse days endure.





IV.




Act I. Scene 3.

fe/ 5 !'^^!^ J $0 HAT night a terrible tempest of thunder and lightning swept
over the city. The whole earth seemed shaken, and the
heavens were dropping fire, as if the gods, angry with the
world, were threatening its destruction. Those who by
chance were in the streets told each other of wonderful
sights. Casca, with a drawn sword, breathless, as if just
escaped from some great danger, and staring wildly as if

in dread of some new peril, rushed into the public square at the same moment

that Cicero, one of the Roman senators, entered it from the other side. Casca

has laid aside his affected indifference

now.

" O Cicero," he exclaimed, " I

have seen tempests when the winds

split knotty oaks ; I have seen the

ocean swell, and rage, and foam,

until it reached the sky ; but never

such a night as this till now. The

very skies rain fire ! I met a slave

whose hands did flame and burn

like twenty torches, and yet re-
mained unscorched ! I drew my

sword against a lion that I met near

the Capitol ; but he only glared at

me, and then went by, without offering to harm me. A hundred women, pale

with terror, drawn together in a crowd, swore they saw men on fire walking

through the streets. Yesterday, at noon, an owl sat hooting and shrieking in the

market-place ! These are fearful omens ! "




166 SHAKESPEARE FOR THE YOUNG FOLK.

"They are indeed wonderful," rejoined Cicero, "but yet may not mean evil.
Men are very apt to misinterpret such things. — Does Csesar come to the Capitol
to-morrow? "

" He does ; and he bade Mark Antony send word to you to meet him there."
" Good night, then, Casca : this is no night for men to walk in."
After the departure of Cicero, Casca was joined by Cassius. They talked
about the strange events of the night, and their possible meaning. To the mind
of Cassius, all events conspired to feed his burning hate of Caesar. Though the
night was terrible with its fires and ghosts, strange birds and beasts, yet there
was one man more to be dreaded than even these tokens of the wrath of the
gods ; the thunder, the lightning, and the lion in the Capitol, all betokened only
Ccesa7\

"O Casca," he cried, "though Romans still have limbs and sinews like their
ancestors, our fathers' minds are dead, and we are governed by our mothers'
spirits ; else would we never suffer underneath this yoke ! "

"They say, indeed," replied Casca, "that the senators to-morrow mean to
establish Csesar as a king ; and he shall wear his crown by sea and land, in every
place, save here in Italy ! "

Cassius. I know where I will wear this dagger then ;
Cassius from bondage will deliver Cassius.
That part of tyranny that I do bear
I can shake off at pleasure.

Casca. So can I :

So every bondman in his own hand bears
The power to cancel his captivity.

Cassius. And why should Caesar be a tyrant then ?
Poor man ! I know he would not be a wolf,
• But that he sees the Romans are but sheep :
He were no lion, were not Romans hinds.

— But, O grief !
Where hast thou led me ? I perhaps speak this
Before a willing bondman : then I know
My answer must be made ; but I am armed,
And dangers are to me indifferent.

Casca. You speak to Casca ; and to such a man
That is no [fawning] tell-tale. [Here 's] my hand :
Be [active] for redress of all these griefs,
And I will set this foot of mine as far,
As who goes farthest.

Cassius. There 's a bargain made.

Now know you, Casca, I have moved already
Some certain of the noblest-minded Romans,
To [undertake] with me an enterprise
Of honorable-dangerous consequence ;



JULIUS GdESAR.



167



And I do know, by this, they stay for me
In Pompey's porch."

While they are thus talking, another footstep is heard approaching in the
darkness. " Stand close awhile," said Casca, " for here comes one in haste."

Cassius. 'T is Cinna, I do know him by his gait :
He is a friend. — Cinna, where haste you so?

Cinna. To find out you. Who 's that? Metellus Cimber?
Cassius. No, it is Casca ; one [who joins with us
In] our attempt.

Cinna. I am glad on 't. What a fearful night is this !
There 's two or three of us have seen strange sights.
Cassius. Am I not stayed for ? Tell me.
Cinna. Yes, you are.

O Cassius ! if you could but win the noble Brutus
To our party, —

Cassius. Be you content. Good Cinna, take this paper,

[Producing several slips of paper.
And look you lay it in the praetor's b chair,
Where Brutus may but find it ; and throw this
In at his window ; set this up with wax
Upon old Brutus' c statue : all this done,
Repair to Pompey's porch, where you shall find us.
Is Decius Brutus, and Trebonius, there ?

Cinna. All but Metellus Cimber, and he 's gone
To seek you at your house. Well, I will [haste],
And so bestow these papers as you bade me.
Cassius. That done, repair to Pompey's theatre.

[Cinna goes out.
Come, Casca, you and I will yet, ere day,
See Brutus at his house : three parts of him
Is ours already; and the man entire,
Upon the next encounter, yields him ours.

Casca. O, he sits high in all the people's hearts ;
And that which would appear offence in us,
His countenance, like richest alchemy, 4
Will change to virtue, and to worthiness.




a Pompey's Porch — A large building connected with the theatre built by Pompey.

b Brutus was at this time praetor, or magistrate, in Rome.

c This was the statue of Lucius Junius Brutus, who drove the Tarquins out of Rome.
Plutarch tells us that one of these papers read, Would that thou wert now alive ! and that the
praetor's chair was full of these bills, with Brutus, thotc a?-t asleep ! and Thou art not Brutus,
indeed, written on them.

a Alchemy was the art by which the philosophers of old hoped to turn base metals into
gold. It was the source of the truer science of Chemistry.



1 68 SHAKESPEARE FOR THE YOUNG FOLK.

Cassius. Him, and his worth, and our great need of him
You have right well [conceived]. Let us go,
For it is after midnight : and, ere day.
We will awake him, and be sure of him.

Then they made their way through the tempestuous night to the house of
Brutus.





BRUTUS IN HIS GARDEN.



V.

Act II. Scene i.

HEN Brutus went home, after his interview with Cassius, he had
little inclination to sleep. Instead, therefore, of going to bed, he
walked in his garden, wrapped in deep thought, and striving to
1^ reconcile his love for the man Julius with his duty to check the
strides of the great Dictator towards royal power.




170 SHAKESPEARE FOR THE YOUNG FOLK.

At length he called to his page, —

What, Lucius, ho ! —

I cannot, by the progress of the stars,

Give guess how near to day. — Lucius, I say ! —

I would it were my fault to sleep so soundly. —

Lucius, awake ! [Why,] Lucius !

The lad entered, rubbing his eyes, and drowsily replying, —

Called you, my lord ?

Brutus. Get me a taper in my study, Lucius.
When it is lighted, come and call me here.

While the lad sought the taper, the thoughts of Brutus returned to Caesar, the
danger that threatened Rome through his ambition, and the ways in which the
evil might be remedied. At last he broke out thus : " It must be by his death.
I cannot see how it may be avoided. Personally, I have no complaint to make
of him ; but, in view of the general good, it is impossible to spare him. It is not
what he is, but what he might become. He wants to be crowned, and that might
change his nature. It is the bright day that brings forth the adder : so the sun-
shine of royalty might reveal the serpent of tyranny in Csesar. Then, lest it may,
we must treat him as the serpent's egg, and kill him in the shell."

While he was thus arguing with himself, the boy returned, bearing a sealed
paper in his hand, and said, —

The taper burnetii in your closet, sir.

Searching the window for a flint, I found

This paper, thus sealed up ; and I am sure

It did not lie there when I went to bed. \_Giving him the paper.

Brutus. Get you to bed again ; it is not day.
Is not to-morrow, boy, the ides of March ?

Lticius. I know not, sir.

Brutus. Look in the calendar, and bring me word.

Lucius. I will, sir. [Exit.

Brutus. [These fiery meteors], whizzing in the air,
Give so much light that I may read by them.

[Opens the paper, and reads.
Brutus, thou steepest : awake, and see thyself.
Shall Rome, et cetera. Speak, strike, redress ! —
" Brutus, thou sleep'st : awake ! " —
Such instigations have been often dropped
Where I have took them up.

" Shall Rome, et cetera." 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 called a king.



JULIUS CESAR. 171

" 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 !

By this time Lucius, having consulted the calendar, returns and reports to
Brutus : " Sir, March is wasted fourteen days."

" 'T is good," answered the master ; and then, hearing a knocking outside,
he added, " Go to the gate ; somebody knocks." Lucius goes to the outer door,
and Brutus continues his soliloquy.

Since Cassius first did whet me against Csesar,
I have not slept.

Between the acting of a dreadful thing
And the first [impulse], all the interim is
Like a [dark] phantasm, or a hideous dream.
The genius and the mortal instruments a
Are then in council ; and the state of man,
Like to a little kingdom, suffers then
The nature of an insurrection.

'Lucius {returning from the gate]. Sir, 't is your brother Cassius at the door,
Who doth desire to see you.

Brutus. Is he alone ?

Lucius. No, sir, there are more with him.

Brutus. Do you know them ?

Lucius. No, sir ; their hats are plucked about their ears,
And half their faces buried in their cloaks,
That by no means I may discover them
By any mark of favor. 1

Brums. Let them enter.

They are the faction. O Conspiracy !
Sham'st 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