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The Same. The Forum. | |
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Enter BRUTUS and CASSIUS, and a throng of Citizens. | |
Citizens. We will be satisfied: let us be satisfied. | |
Bru. Then follow me, and give me audience, friends. | |
Cassius, go you into the other street, | 5 |
And part the numbers. | |
Those that will hear me speak, let em stay here; | |
Those that will follow Cassius, go with him; | |
And public reasons shall be rendered | |
Of Cæsars death. | 10 |
First Cit. I will hear Brutus speak. | |
Sec. Cit. I will hear Cassius; and compare their reasons, | |
When severally we hear them rendered. [Exit CASSIUS, with some of the Citizens; BRUTUS goes into the pulpit. | |
Third Cit. The noble Brutus is ascended: silence! | |
Bru. Be patient till the last. | 15 |
Romans, countrymen, and lovers! hear me for my cause; and be silent, that you may hear: believe me for mine honour, and have respect to mine honour, that you may believe: censure me in your wisdom, and awake your senses, that you may the better judge. If there be any in this assembly, any dear friend of Cæsars, to him I say, that Brutus love to Cæsar was no less than his. If then that friend demand why Brutus rose against Cæsar, this is my answer: Not that I loved Cæsar less, but that I loved Rome more. Had you rather Cæsar were living, and die all slaves, than that Cæsar were dead, to live all free men? As Cæsar loved 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 slew him. There is tears for his love; joy for his fortune; honour for his valour; and death for his ambition. Who is here so base that would be a bondman? If any, speak; for him have I offended. Who is here so rude that would not be a Roman? If any, speak; for him have I offended. Who is here so vile that will not love his country? If any, speak; for him have I offended. I pause for a reply. | |
Citizens. None, Brutus, none. | |
Bru. Then none have I offended. I have done no more to Cæsar, than you shall do to Brutus. The question of his death is enrolled in the Capitol; his glory not extenuated, wherein he was worthy, nor his offences enforced, for which he suffered death. | |
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Enter ANTONY and Others, with CÆSARS body. | |
Here comes his body, mourned by Mark Antony: who, though he had no hand in his death, shall receive the benefit of his dying, a place in the common wealth; as which of you shall not? With this I depart: that, as I slew my best lover for the good of Rome, I have the same dagger for myself, when it shall please my country to need my death. | 20 |
Citizens. Live, Brutus! live! live! | |
First Cit. Bring him with triumph home unto his house. | |
Sec. Cit. Give him a statue with his ancestors. | |
Third Cit. Let him be Cæsar. | |
Fourth Cit. Cæsars better parts | 25 |
Shall be crownd in Brutus. | |
First Cit. Well bring him to his house with shouts and clamours. | |
Bru. My countrymen, | |
Sec. Cit. Peace! silence! Brutus speaks. | |
First Cit. Peace, ho! | 30 |
Bru. Good countrymen, let me depart alone, | |
And, for my sake, stay here with Antony. | |
Do grace to Cæsars corpse, and grace his speech | |
Tending to Cæsars glories, which Mark Antony, | |
By our permission, is allowd to make. | 35 |
I do entreat you, not a man depart, | |
Save I alone, till Antony have spoke. [Exit. | |
First Cit. Stay, ho! and let us hear Mark Antony. | |
Third Cit. Let him go up into the public chair; | |
Well hear him. Noble Antony, go up. | 40 |
Ant. For Brutus sake, I am beholding to you. [Goes up. | |
Fourth Cit. What does he say of Brutus? | |
Third Cit. He says, for Brutus sake, | |
He finds himself beholding to us all. | |
Fourth Cit. Twere best he speak no harm of Brutus here. | 45 |
First Cit. This Cæsar was a tyrant. | |
Third Cit. Nay, thats certain: | |
We are blessd that Rome is rid of him. | |
Sec. Cit. Peace! let us hear what Antony can say. | |
Ant. You gentle Romans, | 50 |
Citizens. Peace, ho! let us hear him. | |
Ant. Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; | |
I come to bury Cæsar, not to praise him. | |
The evil that men do lives after them, | |
The good is oft interred with their bones; | 55 |
So let it be with Cæsar. The noble Brutus | |
Hath told you Cæsar was ambitious; | |
If it were so, it was a grievous fault, | |
And grievously hath Cæsar answerd it. | |
Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest, | 60 |
For Brutus is an honourable man; | |
So are they all, all honourable men, | |
Come I to speak in Cæsars funeral. | |
He was my friend, faithful and just to me: | |
But Brutus says he was ambitious; | 65 |
And Brutus is an honourable man. | |
He hath brought many captives home to Rome, | |
Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill: | |
Did this in Cæsar seem ambitious? | |
When that the poor have cried, Cæsar hath wept; | 70 |
Ambition should be made of sterner stuff: | |
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious; | |
And Brutus is an honourable man. | |
You all did see that on the Lupercal | |
I thrice presented him a kingly crown, | 75 |
Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition? | |
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious; | |
And, sure, he is an honourable man. | |
I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke, | |
But here I am to speak what I do know. | 80 |
You all did love him once, not without cause: | |
What cause withholds you then to mourn for him? | |
O judgment! thou art fled to brutish beasts, | |
And men have lost their reason. Bear with me; | |
My heart is in the coffin there with Cæsar, | 85 |
And I must pause till it come back to me. | |
First Cit. Methinks there is much reason in his sayings. | |
Sec. Cit. If thou consider rightly of the matter, | |
Cæsar has had great wrong. | |
Third Cit. Has he, masters? | 90 |
I fear there will a worse come in his place. | |
Fourth Cit. Markd ye his words? He would not take the crown; | |
Therefore tis certain he was not ambitious. | |
First Cit. If it be found so, some will dear abide it. | |
Sec. Cit. Poor soul! his eyes are red as fire with weeping. | 95 |
Third Cit. Theres not a nobler man in Rome than Antony. | |
Fourth Cit. Now mark him; he begins again to speak. | |
Ant. But yesterday the word of Cæsar might | |
Have stood against the world; now lies he there, | |
And none so poor to do him reverence. | 100 |
O masters! if I were disposd to stir | |
Your hearts and minds to mutiny and rage, | |
I should do Brutus wrong, and Cassius wrong, | |
Who, you all know, are honourable men. | |
I will not do them wrong; I rather choose | 105 |
To wrong the dead, to wrong myself, and you, | |
Than I will wrong such honourable men. | |
But heres a parchment with the seal of Cæsar; | |
I found it in his closet, tis his will. | |
Let but the commons hear this testament | 110 |
Which, pardon me, I do not mean to read | |
And they would go and kiss dead Cæsars wounds, | |
And dip their napkins in his sacred blood, | |
Yea, beg a hair of him for memory, | |
And, dying, mention it within their wills, | 115 |
Bequeathing it as a rich legacy | |
Unto their issue. | |
Fourth Cit. Well hear the will: read it, Mark Antony. | |
Citizens. The will, the will! we will hear Cæsars will. | |
Ant. Have patience, gentle friends; I must not read it: | 120 |
It is not meet you know how Cæsar lovd you. | |
You are not wood, you are not stones, but men; | |
And, being men, hearing the will of Cæsar, | |
It will inflame you, it will make you mad. | |
Tis good you know not that you are his heirs; | 125 |
For if you should, O! what would come of it. | |
Fourth Cit. Read the will! well hear it, Antony; | |
You shall read us the will, Cæsars will. | |
Ant. Will you be patient? Will you stay awhile? | |
I have oershot myself to tell you of it. | 130 |
I fear I wrong the honourable men | |
Whose daggers have stabbd Cæsar; I do fear it. | |
Fourth Cit. They were traitors: honourable men! | |
Citizens. The will! the testament! | |
Sec. Cit. They were villains, murderers. The will! read the will. | 135 |
Ant. You will compel me then to read the will? | |
Then make a ring about the corpse of Cæsar, | |
And let me show you him that made the will. | |
Shall I descend? and will you give me leave? | |
Citizens. Come down. | 140 |
Sec. Cit. Descend. [ANTONY comes down. | |
Third Cit. You shall have leave. | |
Fourth Cit. A ring; stand round. | |
First Cit. Stand from the hearse; stand from the body. | |
Sec. Cit. Room for Antony; most noble Antony. | 145 |
Ant. Nay, press not so upon me; stand far off. | |
Citizens. Stand back! room! bear back! | |
Ant. If you have tears, prepare to shed them now. | |
You all do know this mantle: I remember | |
The first time ever Cæsar put it on; | 150 |
Twas on a summers evening, in his tent, | |
That day he overcame the Nervii. | |
Look! in this place ran Cassius dagger through: | |
See what a rent the envious Casca made: | |
Through this the well-beloved Brutus stabbd; | 155 |
And, as he pluckd his cursed steel away, | |
Mark how the blood of Cæsar followd it, | |
As rushing out of doors, to be resolvd | |
If Brutus so unkindly knockd or no; | |
For Brutus, as you know, was Cæsars angel: | 160 |
Judge, O you gods! how dearly Cæsar lovd him. | |
This was the most unkindest cut of all; | |
For when the noble Cæsar saw him stab, | |
Ingratitude, more strong than traitors arms, | |
Quite vanquishd him: then burst his mighty heart; | 165 |
And, in his mantle muffling up his face, | |
Even at the base of Pompeys statua, | |
Which all the while ran blood, great Cæsar fell. | |
O! what a fall was there, my countrymen; | |
Then I, and you, and all of us fell down, | 170 |
Whilst bloody treason flourishd over us. | |
O! now you weep, and I perceive you feel | |
The dint of pity; these are gracious drops. | |
Kind souls; what! weep you when you but behold | |
Our Cæsars vesture wounded? Look you here, | 175 |
Here is himself, marrd, as you see, with traitors. | |
First Cit. O piteous spectacle! | |
Sec. Cit. O noble Cæsar! | |
Third Cit. O woeful day! | |
Fourth Cit. O traitors! villains! | 180 |
First Cit. O most bloody sight! | |
Sec. Cit. We will be revenged. | |
Citizens. Revenge!About!Seek!Burn! | |
Fire!Kill!Slay! Let not a traitor live. | |
Ant. Stay, countrymen! | 185 |
First Citizen. Peace there! Hear the noble Antony. | |
Sec. Cit. Well hear him, well follow him, well die with him. | |
Ant. Good friends, sweet friends, let me not stir you up | |
To such a sudden flood of mutiny. | |
They that have done this deed are honourable: | 190 |
What private griefs they have, alas! I know not, | |
That made them do it; they are wise and honourable, | |
And will, no doubt, with reasons answer you. | |
I come not, friends, to steal away your hearts: | |
I am no orator, as Brutus is; | 195 |
But, as you know me all, a plain blunt man, | |
That love my friend; and that they know full well | |
That gave me public leave to speak of him. | |
For I have neither wit, nor words, nor worth, | |
Action, nor utterance, nor the power of speech, | 200 |
To stir mens blood: I only speak right on; | |
I tell you that which you yourselves do know, | |
Show you sweet Cæsars wounds, poor poor dumb mouths, | |
And bid them speak for me: but were I Brutus, | |
And Brutus Antony, there were an Antony | 205 |
Would ruffle up your spirits, and put a tongue | |
In every wound of Cæsar, that should move | |
The stones of Rome to rise and mutiny. | |
Citizens. Well mutiny. | |
First Cit. Well burn the house of Brutus. | 210 |
Third Cit. Away, then! come, seek the conspirators. | |
Ant. Yet hear me, countrymen; yet hear me speak. | |
Citizens. Peace, ho!Hear Antony,most noble Antony. | |
Ant. Why, friends, you go to do you know not what. | |
Wherein hath Cæsar thus deservd your loves? | 215 |
Alas! you know not: I must tell you then. | |
You have forgot the will I told you of. | |
Citizens. Most true. The will! lets stay and hear the will. | |
Ant. Here is the will, and under Cæsars seal. | |
To every Roman citizen he gives, | 220 |
To every several man, seventy-five drachmas. | |
Sec. Cit. Most noble Cæsar! well revenge his death. | |
Third Cit. O royal Cæsar! | |
Ant. Hear me with patience. | |
Citizens. Peace, ho! | 225 |
Ant. Moreover, he hath left you all his walks, | |
His private arbours, and new-planted orchards, | |
On this side Tiber; he hath left them you, | |
And to your heirs for ever; common pleasures, | |
To walk abroad, and recreate yourselves. | 230 |
Here was a Cæsar! when comes such another? | |
First Cit. Never, never! Come, away, away! | |
Well burn his body in the holy place, | |
And with the brands fire the traitors houses. | |
Take up the body. | 235 |
Sec. Cit. Go fetch fire. | |
Third Cit. Pluck down benches. | |
Fourth Cit. Pluck down forms, windows, any thing. [Exeunt Citizens, with the body. | |
Ant. Now let it work: mischief, thou art afoot, | |
Take thou what course thou wilt! | 240 |
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Enter a Servant. | |
How now, fellow! | |
Serv. Sir, Octavius is already come to Rome. | |
Ant. Where is he? | |
Serv. He and Lepidus are at Cæsars house. | 245 |
Ant. And thither will I straight to visit him. | |
He comes upon a wish. Fortune is merry, | |
And in this mood will give us any thing. | |
Serv. I heard him say Brutus and Cassius | |
Are rid like madmen through the gates of Rome. | 250 |
Ant. Belike they had some notice of the people, | |
How I had movd them. Bring me to Octavius. [Exeunt. | |
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