Ant. Thy heart is big, get thee apart and weep; Paffion I fee is catching; for mine eyes,

Seeing those Beads of forrow ftand in thine,
Began to water. Is thy mafter coming?

Ser. He lyes to night within feven leagues of Rome.
Ant. Poft back with speed, and tell him what hath

chanc'd.

Here is a mourning Rome, a dangerous Rome,
No Rome of fafety for Octavius yet;

Hie hence, and tell him fo. Yet ftay a while;
Thou shalt not back, 'till I have borne this corse
Into the market-place: there fhall I try
In my Oration, how the people take
The cruel iffue of thefe bloody men;
According to the which, thou fhalt difcourfe
To young Octavius of the state of things.

Lend me your hand. [Exeunt with Cæfar's body.

S.

CÈ

N E V.

Changes to the Forum,

Enter Brutus, and mounts the Roftra; Caffius, with the Plebeians.

Pleb. WE will be fatisfied; let us be satisfied.

Bru. Then follow me, and give me

audience, friends.

Caffius, go you into the other street,

And part the numbers:

Thofe, that will hear me fpeak, let 'em ftay here; Thofe, that will follow Caffius, go with him;

And publick reafons fhall be rendered

Of Cafar's death.

1 Pleb. I will hear Brutus fpeak,

z Pleb. I will hear Caffius, and compare their

reafons,

When

When fev'rally weį hear them rendered.

[Exit Caffius, with fome of the Plebeians. Pleb. 3 The noble Brutus is afcended: filence! Bru. Be patient 'till the laft.

Romans, Countrymen, and Lovers! hear me for my cause; and be filent, that you may hear. Believe me for mine honour, and have refpect to mine honour, that you may believe. Cenfure me in your wifdom, and awake your fenfes, that you may the better judge. If there be any in this affembly, any dear friend of Cafar's, to him I fay, that Brutus's love to Cafar C was no less than his. If then that friend demand, • why Brutus rose against Cæfar, this is my Answer: • Not that I lov'd Cæfar lefs, but that I lov'd Rome more. Had you rather Cæfar were living, and dye all flaves; than that Cæfar were dead, to live all 'free-men? As Cæfar lov'd me, I weep for him; as 'he was fortunate, I rejoice at it; as he was valiant, 'I honour him ; but as he was ambitious, I flew him. There are tears for his love, joy for his fortune, 'honour for his valour, and death for his ambition. • Who's here fo bafe, that would be a bond-man? If any, fpeak; for him have I offended. Who's here fo rude, that would not be a Roman? if any, fpeak; ' for him have I offended. Who is here fo vile, that ⚫ will not love his Country? if any, fpeak; for him • have I offended-I paufe for a Reply.

6 -Countrymen and Lovers! &c.] There is no where, in all Shakespear's works, a stronger proof of his not being what we call a fcholar, than this; or of his not knowing any thing of the genius of learned antiquity. This fpeech of Brutus is wrote in imitation of his famed laconic brevity, and is very fine in its kind. But no more like that brevity, than his times were like Brutus's. The ancient laconic brevity was fimple, natural and eafy this is quaint, artificial, gingling, and abounding with forced antithefis's. In a word a brevity, that for its falfe eloquence would have fuited any character, and for its good fenfe would have become the greatest of our author's time; but yet, in a tile of declaiming, that fits as ill upon Brutus as our author's trowfers or collar-band would have done.

All. None, Brutus, none.

Bru. Then none have I offended-I have done no more to Cafar, than you [fhall do to Brutus. The queftion of his death is inroll'd in the Capitol; his glory not extenuated, wherein he was worthy; nor his offences enforc'd, for which he suffered death.

Enter Mark Antony with Cæfar's body.

Here comes his body, mourn'd by Mark Antony; who, though he had no hand in his death, fhall receive the benefit of his dying, a place in the Commonwealth; as which of you fhall not? With this I depart, that as I flew my best lover for the good of Rome; I have the fame dagger for myfelf, when it fhall please my Country to need my death.

All. Live, Brutus, live! live!

I Pleb. Bring him with triumph home unto his house. 2 Pleb. Give him a ftatue with his Ancestors. 3 Pleb. Let him be Cæfar.

4 Pleb. Cæfar's better Parts Shall be crown'd in Brutus.

1 Pleb. We'll bring him to his house with shouts and clamours.

Bru. My Countrymen

2 Pleb. Peace! filence! Brutus speaks.
1 Pleb. Peace, ho!

Bru. Good Countrymen, let me depart alone,
And, for my fake, ftay here with Antony;
Do grace to Cafar's corps, and grace his speech
Tending to Cafar's glories; which Mark Antony
By our permiffion is allow'd to make.
I do intreat you, not a man depart,
Save I alone, till Antony have spoke.

[Exit.

1 Pleb. Stay, ho, and let us hear Mark Antony. 3 Pleb. Let him go up into the publick Chair,

We'll

We'll hear him: noble Antony, go up.
Ant. For Brutus' fake, I am beholden to you.
Pleb. What does he fay of Brutus ?

4

3 Pleb. He fays, for Brutus' fake

He finds himself beholden to us all.

4 Pleb. 'Twere beft he fpeak no harm of Brutus

here.

1 Pleb. This Cæfar was a Tyrant.

3

Pleb. Nay, that's certain;

We are bleft, that Rome is rid of him.

2 Pleb. Peace; let us hear what Antony can fay. Ant. You gentle Romans

All. Peace, ho, let us hear him.

Ant. Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your

ears;

'I come to bury Cæfar, not to praise him.
'The Evil, that men do, lives after them
The Good is oft interred with their bones;
'So let it be with Cæfar! noble Brutus
'Hath told you, Cæfar was ambitious;
If it were fo, it was a grievous fault;
And grievously hath Cafar answer'd it.
'Here, under leave of Brutus, and the rest,
(For Brutus is an honourable man,

So are they all, all honourable men)

• Come I to speak in Cefar's funeral.
He was my friend, faithful and just to me;
• But Brutus fays, he was ambitious;

•And Brutus is an honourable man.

'He hath brought many captives home to Rome, • Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill;

'Did this in Cæfar feem ambitious?

• When that the poor have cry'd, Cafar hath wept; • Ambition fhould be made of fterner ftuff. Yet Brutus fays, he was ambitious; •And Brutus is an honourable man, You all did fee, that, on the Lupercal,

• I thrice presented him a kingly crown;

• Which he did thrice refuse. Was this ambition? • Yet Brutus fays, he was ambitious;

And, fure, he is an honourable man.

I fpeak not, to difprove what Brutus fpoke, • But here I am to speak what I do know. • You all did love him once, not without caufe: • What cause withholds you then to mourn for him? O judgment! thou art fled to brutish beafts,

• And men have loft their reafon-bear with me, • My heart is in the coffin there with Cafar,

• And I muft paufe 'till it come back to me. I

1 Pleb. Methinks, there is much reafon in his
fayings.

If thou confider rightly of the matter,
Cafar has had great wrong.

3 Pleb. Has he, Masters? I fear there will a worfe come in his place.

4 Pleb. Mark'd ye his words? he would not take the crown;

Therefore, 'tis certain, he was not ambitious.

1 Pleb. If it be found fo, fome will dear abide it.
2 Pleb. Poor foul! his eyes are red as fire with
weeping.

3

Pleb. There's not a nobler man in Rome than
Antony.

7 Cæfar has had great wrong.] 3 Pleb. Cæfar had never wrong but with juft caufe. If ever there was fuch a line written by Shakespear, I fhould fancy it might have its place here, and very humourously in the character of a Plebeian. One might believe Ben Johnson's remark was made upon no better credit than fome blunder of an actor in fpeaking that verfe near the beginning of the third act,

Know, Cæfar doth not wrong; nor without cause
Will be be fatisfied.

But the verfe, as cited by Ben Johnson, does not connect with
Will he be fatisfied. Perhaps this play was never printed in
Ben Johnson's time, and fo he had nothing to judge by but as the
actor pleased to speak it.

Mr. Pope.

4 Pleb.