Met. O let us have him, for his filver hairs
Will purchase us a good opinion,
And buy mens voices to commend our deeds:
It fhall be faid, 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.
Caf. Then leave him out.
Cafca. Indeed, he is not fit.
Der. Shall no man elfe be touch'd, but only Cæfar? Caf. Decius, well urg'd: I think, it is not meet, Mark Antony, fo well belov'd of Cafar,
Should out-live Cafar: we fhall find of him
A fhrewd contriver. And you know, his means,
If he improve them, may well stretch fo far,
As to annoy us all; which to prevent,
Let Antony and Cæfar fall together.
Bru. Our courfe will feem too bloody, Caius Caffius,
To cut the head off, and then hack the limbs;
Like wrath in death, and envy. afterwards:
For Antony is but a limb of Cafar.
Let us be facrificers, but not butchers, Caius ;
We all stand up against the fpirit of Cafar,
And in the spirit of man there is no blood:
O, that we then could come by Cafar's fpirit,
And not difmember Cafar! but alas!
Cafar muft 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 fubtle masters do,
Stir up their fervants to an act of rage,
And after feem to chide them. This fhall make
Our purpose necessary, and not envious:
Which, fo appearing to the common eyes,
We fhall be call'd Purgers, not Murderers.
And for Mark Antony, think not of him ;
For he can do no more than Cafar's arm,
When Cafar's head is off.
Caf. Yet I do fear him-;
For in th' ingrafted love he bears to Cfar
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 wildnefs, 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,
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,
I can o'er-fway him; for he loves to hear,
That unicorns may be betray'd with trees,
And bears with glaffes, elephants with holes,
Lions with toils, and men with flatterers.
But when I tell him, he hates flatterers,
He fays, he does; being then most flattered.
Leave me to work:
For 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 uttermost ?
Cin. Be that the uttermoft, and fail not then.
Met. Caius Ligarius doth bear Cafar hard,
Who rated him for fpeaking well of Pompey;"
I wonder, none of you have thought of him.
Bru. Now, good Metellus, go along to him: He loves me well; and I have giv'n him reasons ; Send him but hither, and I'll, fashion him.
Caf. The morning comes upon's; we'll leave you
Brutus ;
And, friends! difperfe yourselves ;. but all remember
What you have faid, and fhew yourselves true Romans,
Bru. Good Gentlemen, look fresh and merrily;
Let not our looks put on our purposes;
But bear it, as our Roman actors do,,
With untir'd spirits,, and formal constancy;
And fo, good morrow to you every one..
Boy! Lucius! faft afleep? it is no matter,
Enjoy the honey-heavy dew of flumber:
Thou haft no figures, nor no fantasies,
Which bufy care draws in the brains of men
Therefore thou sleep'ft fo found.
Bru. Porcia, what mean you? wherefore rife you now? It is not for your health, thus to commit
Your weak condition to the raw cold morning.
Por. Nor for yours neither. You've ungently, Brutus, Stole from my bed: and, yefternight at fupper,, You fuddenly arofe and walk'd about, Mufing and fighing, with your arms a-cross ;: And, when i afk'd you what the matter was, You ftar'd upon me with ungentle looks.. I urg'd you further; then you fcratch'd your head, your And too impatiently stamp'd with your foot: Yet I infifted, yet you anfwer'd not; But with an angry wafture of your hand, Gave fign for me to leave you: so I did, Fearing to ftrengthen that impatience,
Which feem'd too much inkindled; and, withal,
Hoping it was but an effect of humour;
Which fometime hath his hour with every man,
It will not let you eat, nor talk, nor fleep;
And could it work fo 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 caufe of grief.
Bru. I am not well in health, and that is all.
Por. Brutus is wife, and were he not in health,
He would embrace the means to come by it.
Bru. Why, fo I do: good Porcia, go to bed.
Por. Is Brutus fick and is it phyfical
To walk unbraced, and fuck up the humours
Of the dank morning? what, is Brutus fick?
And will he steal out of his wholesome bed,
To dare the vile contagion of the night?
And tempt the rheumy and unpurged air,
To add unto his fickness? no, my Brutus,
You have fome fick 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, (13)
By all your vows of love, and that great vow
Which did incorporate and make us one,
That you unfold to me, yourfelf, your half,
Why you are heavy: and what men to-night
Have had resort to you: for here have been
Some fix or seven, who did hide their faces
Even from darkness.
Bru. Kneel not, gentle Porcia.
Por. I fhould not need, if you were gentle Brutus.
Within the bond of marriage, tell me, Brutus,
Is it excepted, I fhould know no fecrets
That appertain to you? am I yourself,
But, as it were, in sort or limitation ?
To keep with you at meals, confort your bed, (14)
(13) I charge you.] Thus Mr. Pope has corrected, in both his Editions; but I have reftor'd the reading of the old books, I charm i. e. I conjure you by the magick of, &c.
And talk to you fometimes? dwell I but in the suburbs. Of your good pleasure? If it be no more,
Porcia is Brutus' harlot, not his wife.
Bru. You are my true and honourable wife;
As dear to me, as are the ruddy drops
'That vifit my fad heart.
Por. If this were true, then should I know this feeret. 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 ftronger than my fex,
Being fo father'd, and fo husbanded?
'Tell me your counfels, I will not disclose them:
I have made ftrong proof of my conftancy,
Giving myself a voluntary wound
Here, in the thigh: can I bear that with patience,
Render me worthy of this noble wife.
Hark, hark, one knocks: Porcia, go in a while
And, by and by, thy bofom fhall partake
The fecrets of my heart.
All my engagements I will conftrue to thee,
All the charactery of my fad brows.
This is but an odd phrase, and gives as odd an idea. The word, I have fubftituted, feems much more proper; and is one of our Poet's own ufage; which makes me fufpect, he emplóy'd it here. So in his Comedy of Errors;
And, afterwards, confort you till bed-time.
And fo in his Poem, call'd Venus and Adonis ;
Who bids them ftill confort with ugly Night;
And fo afterwards, again, in the fifth Act of this Play;
Two mighty Eagles fell; and there they perch'd;
Gorging and feeding from our foldiers hands,
Who to Philippi here conforted us.
And, in Midfummer Night's Dream;
And muft for aye confort with black-brow'd Night.
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