Like a phantafma, or a hideous dream :
The Genius, and the mortal inftruments
Are then in council; and the state of man,
Like to a little kingdom, fuffers then
The nature of an infurrection.

Enter Lucius.

Luc. Sir, 'tis your brother Cafius at the door, Who doth defire to see you.

Bru. Is he alone?

Lue. No, Sir, there are more with him.

Bru. Do you know them?

Luc. No, Sir, their hats are pluckt about their ears, And half their faces buried in their cloaks ;

That by no means I may discover them

By any mark of favour.

Bru. Let them enter.

They are the faction. O Confpiracy!

[Exit Lucius.

Sham'st thou to fhew thy dang'rous brow by night,
When Evils are most free? O then, by day

Where wilt thou find a cavern dark enough,

To mask thy monftrous vifage? feek none, Confpiracy Hide it in fmiles and affability:

For if thou path, thy native femblance on,

Not Erebus itself were dim enough

To hide thee from prevention.

Enter Caffius, Cafca, Decius, Cinna, Metellus,
and Trebonias.

Caf. I think, we are too bold upon your reft;
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? [Afide. Caf. Yes, every man of them; and no man here, But honours you and every one doth wish,

You had but that opinion of your self,

Which every noble Roman bears of you.
This is Trebonius.

Bru. He is welcome hither.

Caf. This, Decius Brutus.

VOL. VII.

B

Bruc

Bru. He is welcome too.

Caf. This, Cafca; this, Cinna ; And this, Metellus Cimber.

Bru. They are all welcome.

What watchful cares do interpose themselves

Betwixt your eyes and night?

Caf. Shall I entreat a word?

[They whisper.

Dec. Here lies the East: doth not the day break here? (11)

Cafea. No.

Cin. O pardon, Sir, it doth; and yon grey lines, That fret the clouds, are meffengers of day.

Cafca. You fhall confefs, that you are both deceiv'd: Here, as I point my fword, the Sun arises,

Which is a great way growing on the South,
Weighing the youthful feafon of the year.
Some two months hence, up higher toward the North
He first prefents his fire; and the high East
Stands, as the Capitol, directly here.

Bru. Give me your hands all over, one by one.
Caf. And let us swear our resolution.

Bru. No, not an oath: if that the face of men,

(11) Here lies the Eaft:] Mr. Rymer, in his Examination of the Tragedies of the laft Age, p. 153, has left an invidious and paltry remark on this paffage. Here the Roman Senators, (fays be) the "midnight before Cafar's death, (met in the garden of Brutus to "fettle the matter of their Confpiracy) are gazing up to the Stars, "and have no more in their heads than to wrangle about which is "the Eaft and Wet. This is directly, as Bays tells us, to fhew the "world a pattern here, how men fhould talk of bufinefs. But it "would be a wrong to the Poet, not to inform the reader, that on

the stage the fpectators fee Brutus and Caffius all this while at "whisper together."- -I cannot help having the utmoft contempt for this poor ill-judged fneer. It fhews the height of good manners and politeness in the Confpirators, while Brutus and Caffius whifper, to ftart any occafional topick, and talk extempore; rather than seem to liften to, or be defirous of overhearing, what Caffius draws Brutus afide for. And, if I am not mistaken, there is a piece of art fhewn in this whisper, which our Caviller either did not, or would not, fee into. The audience are already apprized of the fubject on which the faction meet: and therefore this whisper is an artifice, to prevent the preliminaries, of what they knew beforehand, being formally repeated.

The

The fufferance of our fouls, the time's abuse,
If these be motives weak, break off betimes;
And ev'ry man hence to his idle bed:
So let high-fighted tyranny range on, (12)
"Till each man drop by lottery. But if thefe,
As I am fure they do, bear fire enough

To kindle cowards, and to steel with valour
The melting spirits of women; then, countrymen,
What need we any fpur, but our own cause,
To prick us to redress? what other bond,
Than fecret Romans, that have spoke the word,
And will not palter? and what other oath,
Than honefty to honefty engag'd,

That this fhall be, or we will fall for it?
Swear priests, and cowards, and men cautelou,
Old feeble carrions, and fuch fuffering fouls
That welcome wrongs: unto bad causes, swear
Such creatures as men doubt; but do not stain
The even virtue of our enterprize,

Nor th' infuppreffive mettle of our spirits ;
To think, that or our caufe, or our performance,
Did need an oath: When ev'ry drop of blood,
That ev'ry Roman bears, and nobly bears,
Is guilty of a feveral bastardy,

If he doth break the smallest particle

Of any promife that hath paft from him.

Caf. But what of Cicero? fhall we found him?
I think, he will stand very ftrong with us.
Cafca. Let us not leave him out.

Cin. No, by no means.

(12) So let high-fighted tyranny- -] Tho' I have not difturb'd this epithet in the text, yet, I fufpect, our Poet either wrote, as Mr. Warburton hinted to me, bigb-fieged; or else, bigb-feated. So Caffius, in the former A&t, fays;

And, after this, let Cæfar feat him fure;

So in Macbeth,

And again,

and our bigb-plac'd Macbeth

Shall live the leafe of Nature;

Great Tyranny, lay thou thy Bafis fure,

and in many other paffages.

gemner.

#. Cur ware will bem :00 3.oody, Caius Caffiui,
ut the nudu vf, and then hack the limbs;
Finn kath, and envy afterwards:

ama amb of Cajar.

armers, at not butchers, Caius ;
pt the fpirit of Cafar,
man there is no blood:

vernen cox come by Cefar's fpirit,

ar! but alas!

And, gentle friends,

not wrathfall;
for the Gods,

"C" round.

For he can do no more than Cafar's arm,
When Cæfar's head is off.

Caf. Yet I do fear him‍;

For in th' ingrafted love he bears to Cefar

Bru. Alas, good Caffius, do not think of him:
If he love Cafar, all that he can do

Is to himself, take thought, and die for Cefar :
And that were much, he should; for he is giv'n
To fports, to wildness, and much company.

Treb. There is no fear in him; let him not die;
For he will live, and laugh at this hereafter.

Bru. Peace, count the clock.,
Caf, The clock hath stricken three.
Treb. "Tis time to part.

Caf. But it is doubtful yet,

[Clock Arikers

If Cefar will come forth to-day, or no:
For he is fuperftitious grown of late,
(Quite from the main opinion he held once
Of fantafie, of dreams, and ceremonies :).
It may be, thefe apparent prodigies,
The unaccustom'd terror of this night,
And the perfuafion of his augurers,
May hold him from the Capitol to-day.
Dec. Never fear that; if he be fo refolv'd,
can o'er-fway him; for he loves to hear,
hat unicorns may be betray'd with trees,
nd bears with glaffes, elephants with holes,
ons with toils, and men with flatterers.
ut when I tell him, he hates flatterers,
le fays, he does; being then most flattered.
eave me to work:

or I can give his humour the true bent; And I will bring him to the Capitol.

Caf. Nay, we will all of us be there to fetch him.
Bru. By the eighth hour, is that the uttermoft?
Cin. Be that the uttermoft, and fail not then.
Met. Caius Ligarius doth bear Caefar hard,
ho rated him for speaking well of Pompey;
vonder, none of you have thought of him.

B 3

Bru