Puslapio vaizdai
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Por. Prithee liften well:

I heard a bustling rumour, like a fray,
And the wind brings it from the capitol.
Luc. Sooth, madam, I hear nothing,

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Por. Come hither, fellow: which way haft thou been? Sooth. At mine own house, good lady.

Por. What is 't o'clock ?

Sooth. About the ninth hour, lady.

Por. Is Cafar yet gone to the capitol?

Sooth. Madam, not yet; I go to take my ftand, To fee him pafs on to the capitol.

Por. Thou haft fome fuit to Cæfar, haft thou not? South. That I have, lady, if it will pleafe Cafar To be fo good to Cafar, as to hear me :

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Por. Why, know'ft thou any harm 's intended towards

him?

Sooth. None that I know will be, much that I fear * may

chance.

Good morrow to you. Here the street is narrow;"

The throng that follows Cafar at the heels,
Of fenators, of prætors, common fuitors,
Will crowd a feeble man almoft to death:
I'll get me to a place more void, and there
Speak to great Cæfar as he comes along.

[Exit.

So the fo's and C; the reft, Artemidorus for Soothsayer.

R. P. and H. defend for befriend.

d P. and all after, except C. barm for barm's.

e P. and all after, exeept C. omit may chance.

Par.

Por. I must go in.- Aye me! how weak a thing

The heart of woman is!

The heavens fpeed thee in

O Brutus,

thine enterprize!

Sure the boy heard me. Brutus hath a fuit

That Cæfar will not grant. O, I grow faint:
Run, Lucius, and commend me to my lord;
Say, I am merry: come to me again,

And bring me word what he doth fay to thee. [Exeunt.

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ACT III.

SCENE F

The Street leading to the Capitol,

Flourish. Enter Cæfar, Brutus, Caffius, Cafca, Decius, Metellus, Trebonius, Cinna, Antony, Lepidus, Artemidorus, Publius, ' Popilius, and the Soothsayer.

HE ides of March are come.

Caf, TH

Sooth, Ay, Cafar; but not gone,
Art. Hail, Cafar! Read this schedule.
Dec. Trebonius doth defire you to o'er-read,
At your beft leifure, this his humble fuit.

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There is no defcription of the fcene in the fo's; R. P. and C. defcribe it, The capitol; H. The entrance into the capitol; T. W. and J. The fireet before the capitol; and the capitol open. But it is evident that these are all improper defcriptions. For, according to the firft, it is abfurd to make the capitol the scene of what paffes in the street; Caffius says, What, urge you your petitions in the firet? and still more abfurd, when he bids them Come to the capitol, to suppose them in the

capitol already. Or, if by the capitol bę meant the outfide of the capitol, as explained by the two last descriptions, it is ftill improper to fuppofe that the bufinefs, which is hereafter to be transacted within the capitol, may be commodiously heard and seen by an audience to whom the outfide only of the capitol is presented, and who, in that cafe, can but see and hear through the door-way. Befides, if the fcene be fuppofed the entrance into the capitol, Caffius would

b elter

Art. O Cafar, read mine firft; for mine's a fuit That touches Cafar nearer: Read it," great Cæfar. Cef. What touches us ourself, fhall be last serv'd. Art. Delay not, Cæfar; read it instantly,

better have said, What urge you your petitions at the door? Come into th' capitol.

I have therefore prefumed to make what is done without and within the capitol, two distinct scenes, as I believe Shakespeare intended. Nor is it neceffary to fix the first scene close to the capitol, but rather more confonant with feveral paffages in the foregoing act that it should be at fome diftance. In fçene fifth of the fecond act Artemidorus fays, Here will I fand, till Cæfar pass along, &c. which implies that the part of the street where he had fixed himself was at fome diftance from the capitol; for if it was at the entrance of the capitol, he would with more propriety have said, Here will I ftand, till Cæsar shall arrive. And in the fame act, scene 6, before Brutus's houfe (which is understood to be at a confiderable diftance from the capitol by Portia's words to Lucius,

Prithee liften well: I heard a bustling rumour like a fray, And the wind brings it from the capitol. the Soothsayer fays,

Here the freet is narrow : The throng that follows Cæfar at the heels,

Of fenators, of prætors, common fuitors, Will crowd a feeble man almost to death : I'll get me to a place more void, and

there

Speak to great Cafar as he comes along. Now for any thing that appears in this laft fpeech, the Soothsayer might be suppofed to remove to a place more remote from the capitol than Brutus's house was; for his only reason for removing from thence was, because the street there was narrow. But admitting that he removed nearer the capitol, yet the sense of his words makes it unlikely he should ftation himself at the entrance of the capitol, which he might reasonably expect would be more crowded than any other part of the street. Again, if he had defigned to ftation himself at the entrance of the capitol, he would with greater accuracy have faid, I'll to the door o' th' capitol, and there Speak to great Cæfar as he enters in.

k The three laft fo's, R. and P. omit Publius in the entrance, but make him fpeak in the scene.

1 The first f. omits Popilius.

m R.'s duodecimo and P. Sootb fayers.

a P, and H. omit great.

Caf.

Caf. What, is the fellow mad?

Pub. Sirrah, give place.

Caf. What, urge you your petitions in the street?

Come to the capitol.

[Exeunt

SCENE II.

The Capitol

The Senate fitting. Enter Cæfar and the rest, as in the foregoing Scene. Senate rifes. Cæfar moves towards his Seat.

Pop. I wish your enterprize to-day may

thrive.

[ Afide to Caf

Caf. What enterprize, Popilius?

Pop. Fare you well.

Bru. What faid Popilius Lena?

[Follows Caefar. [Afide to Caffius.

Caf. He wish'd to-day our enterprize might thrive.

I fear our purpose is discovered,

• It is needless to say, that this direction, and the reft that are made neceffary by altering the fcenes, are not in any edition before. C. here directs, Artemidorus is push'd back : which would have been proper enough, fuppofing the scene to be the street; but as C. fuppofes the fcene to be the capitol, and Artemidorus in the entrance, amid a throng of people, and whom, in this cafe, we must imagine to be preffing after Cafer into the capitol, it is very

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