If these be motives weak, break off betimes,
And every man hence to his idle bed;
So let high-sighted tyranny range on,
Till each man drop by lottery. But if these,
As I am sure they do, bear fire enough
To kindle cowards, and to steel with valor
The melting spirits of women; then, countrymen,
What need we any spur, but our own cause,
To prick us to redress? what other bond,
Than secret Romans, that have spoke the word,
And will not palter?7 and what other oath,
Than honesty to honesty engaged,
That this shall be, or we will fall for it?
Swear priests, and cowards, and men cautelous,8
Old feeble carrions, and such suffering souls
That welcome wrongs; unto bad causes swear
Such creatures as men doubt; but do not stain
The even virtue of our enterprise,

Nor the insuppressive mettle of our spirits,
To think, that, or our cause, or our performance,
Did need an oath; when every drop of blood,
That every Roman bears, and nobly bears,
Is guilty of a several bastardy,

If he do break the smallest particle

Of any promise that hath pass d from him.

Cas. But what of Cicero Shall we sound him? I think, he will stand very strong with us. Casca. Let us not leave him out. Cin. No, by no means. Met. O, let us have him; for his silver hairs Will purchase us a good opinion,

And buy men's voices to commend our deeds; It shall be said, 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 ;9

For he will never follow any thing
That other men begin.

Cas.

Then leave him out.

Casca. Indeed, he is not fit.

Dec. Shall no man else be touch'd but only Cæsar?

Cas. Decius, well urged:-I think it is not meet, Mark Antony, so well belov'd of Cæsar, Should outlive Cæsar. We shall find of him A shrewd contriver; and, you know, his means, If he improves them, may well stretch so far, As to annoy us all: which to prevent,

Let Antony and Cæsar fall together.

Bru. Our course will seem too bloody, Caius
Cassius,

To cut the head off, and then hack the limbs;
Like wrath in death, and envy afterwards:
For Antony is but a limb of Cæsar.

Let us be sacrificers, but no butchers, Caius.
We all stand up against the spirit of Cæsar;
And in the spirit of men there is no blood:
O, that we then could come by Cæsar's spirit,
And not dismember Cæsar! But, alas,
Cæsar must 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 carcase fit for hounds:
And let our hearts, as subtle masters do,
Stir up their servants to an act of rage,

And after seem to chide them. This shall make
Our purpose necessary, and not envious:
Which so appearing to the common eyes,
We shall be call'd purgers, not murderers.
And for Mark Antony, think not of him;
For he can do no more than Cæsar's arm,
When Cæsar's head is off.

Cas.
Yet I do fear him:
For in the ingrafted love he bears to Cæsar:-
Bru. Alas, good Cassius, do not think of him:
If he love Cæsar, all that he can do
Is to himself: take thought, and die for Cæsar:
And that were much he should; for he is given
To sports, 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.

[Clock strikes. Bru. Peace, count the clock. Cas. The clock hath stricken three. Treb. 'Tis time to part. Cas.

But it is doubtful yet, Whe'r Cæsar will come forth to-day, or no:

For he is superstitious grown of late;
Quite from the main opinion he held once
Of fantasy, of dreams, and ceremonies:
It may be, these apparent prodigies,
The unaccustom'd terror of this night,
And the persuasion of his augurers,
May hold him from the Capitol to-day.

Dec. Never fear that: If he be so resolv'd,
I can o'ersway him; for he loves to hear,
That unicorns may be betray'd with trees,
And bears with glasses, elephants with holes,
Lions with toils, and men with flatterers.
But, when I tell him, he hates flatterers,
He says, he does: being then most flattered.
Let me work:

For I can give his humor the true bent;
And I will bring him to the Capitol.

Cas. Nay, we will all of us be there to fetch him.
Bru. By the eighth hour: Is that the uttermost?
Cin. Be that the uttermost, and fail not then.
Met. Caius Ligarius doth bear Cæsar hard,
Who rated him for speaking well of Pompey;
I wonder, none of you have thought of him.
Bru. Now, good Metellus, go along by him :2
He loves me well, and I have given him reasons;
Send him but hither, and I'll fashion him.

Cas. The morning comes upon us: We'll leave you, Brutus:

And, friends, disperse yourselves: but all remember What you have said, and show 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 so, good-morrow to you every one.

[Exeunt all but BRUTUS. Boy! Lucius!-Fast asleep? It is no matter; Enjoy the honey-heavy dew of slumber: Thou hast no figures,3 nor no fantasies, Which busy care draws in the brains of men; Therefore thou sleep'st so sound. Enter PORTIA.

Brutus,

Stole from my bed: And yesternight, at supper,
You suddenly arose, and walk'd about,
Musing, and sighing, with your arms across :
And when I ask'd you what the matter was,
You stared upon me with ungentle looks:

I urged you further; then you scratch'd your head,
And too impatiently stamp'd with your foot:
Yet I insisted, yet you answer'd not;
But with an angry wafture of your hand,
Gave sign for me to leave you: So I did;
Fearing to strengthen that impatience,
Which seem'd too much enkindled; and, withal,
Hoping it was but an effect of humor,
Which sometime hath his hour with every man.
It will not let you eat, nor talk, nor sleep;
And, could it work so much upon your shape
As it hath much prevail'd on your condition,4
I should not know you, Brutus. Dear my lord,
Make me acquainted with your cause of grief.
Bru. I am not well in health, and that is all.
Por. Brutus is wise, and were he not in health,
He would embrace the means to come by it.
Bru. Why, so I do :-good Portia, go to bed.
Por. Is Brutus sick; and is it physical
To walk unbraced, and suck up the humors
Of the dank morning? What, is Brutus sick;
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 sickness? No, my Brutus;
You have some sick 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,
By all your vows of love, and that great vow
Which did incorporate and make us one,
That you unfold to me, yourself, your half,
3 Shapes created by imagination.
• Damp.
• Moist.

2 By his house.

• Temper.

Why you are heavy; and what men to-night Have had resort to you: for here have been Some six or seven, who did hide their faces Even from darkness.

Bru.

Kneel not, gentle Portia.

Por. I should not need, if you were gentle Brutus. Within the bond of marriage, tell me, Brutus, Is it excepted, I should know no secrets That appertain to you? Am I yourself, But, as it were, in sort, or limitation;

To keep with you at meals, comfort your bed,
And talk to you sometimes? Dwell I but in the
suburbs

Of your good pleasure? If it be no more,
Portia is Brutus' harlot, not his wife.

Bru. You are my true and honorable wife;
As dear to me as are the ruddy drops

That visit my sad heart.

You shall not stir out of your house to-day. Cæs. Cæsar shall forth: The things that threat en'd me,

Ne'er look'd but on my back; when they shall see The face of Cæsar, they are vanished.

Cul. Cæsar, I never stood on ceremonies,7 Yet now they fright me. There is one within, Besides the things that we have heard and seen, Recounts most horrid sights seen by the watch. A lioness hath whelped in the streets; And graves have yawn'd, and yielded up their dead: Fierce fiery warriors fight upon the clouds, In ranks, and squadrons, and right form of war, Which drizzled blood upon the Capitol:

The noise of battle hurtled in the air,

secret.

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 stronger than my sex,
Being so father'd, and so husbanded?

Tell me your counsels, I will not disclose them:
I have made strong proof of my constancy,
Giving myself a voluntary wound

Here, in the thigh: Can I bear that with patience,
And not my husband's secrets?
Bru.

O ye gods,

Render me worthy of this noble wife!

[Knocking within.
Hark, hark! one knocks: Portia, go in a while;
And by and by thy bosom shall partake
The secrets of my heart.

All my engagements I will construe to thee,
All the charactery of my sad brows:-
Leave me with haste.

[Exit PORTIA.

Enter LUCIUS and LIGARIUS. Lucius, who is that knocks?

Luc. Here is a sick man, that would speak with you.

Bru. Caius Ligarius, that Metellus spake of.Boy, stand aside.-Caius Ligarius! how! Lig.Vouchsafe good-morrow from a feeble tongue. Bru. O, what a time have you chose out, brave Caius,

To wear a kerchief? 'Would you were not sick! Lig. I am not sick, if Brutus have in hand Any exploit worthy the name of honor.

Bru. Such an exploit have I in hand, Ligarius, Had you a healthful ear to hear of it.

Lig. By all the gods that Romans bow before, I here discard my sickness. Soul of Rome! Brave son, deriv'd from honorable loins! Thou, like an exorcist, hast conjur'd up My mortified spirit. Now bid me run, And I will strive with things impossible; Yea, get the better of them. What's to do? Bru. A piece of work, that will make sick men whole.

Lig. But are not some whole, that we must make sick?

Bru. That must we also. What it is, my Caius, I shall unfold to thee, as we are going, To whom it must be done. Lig. Set on your foot; And with a heart new fired, I follow you, To do I know not what: but it sufficeth, That Brutus leads me on.

Bru.

Follow me then.

[Exeunt.

And ghosts did shriek, and squeal about the streets. O Cæsar! these things are beyond all use,

What say the augurers? Serv. They would not have you to stir forth to-day. Plucking the entrails of an offering forth, They could not find a heart within the beast.

Cæs. The gods do this in shame of cowardice: Cæsar should be a beast without a heart, If he should stay at home to-day for fear. No, Cæsar shall not: Danger knows full well, That Cæsar is more dangerous than he. We were two lions litter'd in one day, And I the elder and more terrible; And Cæsar shall go forth.

Cal. Alas, my lord, Your wisdom is consum'd in confidence. Do not go forth to-day: Call it my fear, That keeps you in the house, and not your own. We'll send Mark Antony to the senate-house; And he shall say, you are not well to-day: Let me, upon my knee, prevail in this.

Cæs. Mark Antony shall say, I am not well;
And, for thy humor, I will stay at home.
Enter DECIUS.

Here's Decius Brutus, he shall tell them so.
Dec. Cæsar, all hail! Good morrow, worthy Cæsar:
I come to fetch you to the senate-house.
Cæs. And you are come in very happy time,
To bear my greeting to the senators,
And tell them, that I will not come to-day:
Cannot, is false; and that I dare not, falser;
I will not come to-day: Tell them so, Decius.
Cal. Say, he is sick.
Cæs.
Shall Cæsar send a lie?
Have I in conquest stretch'd mine arm so far,
To be afeard to tell grey-beards the truth?
Decius, go tell them, Cæsar will not come.
Dec. Most mighty Cæsar, let me know some cause,
Lest I be laugh'd at, when I tell them so.
Cæs. The cause is in my will, I will not come;
That is enough to satisfy the senate.
But, for your private satisfaction,
Because I love you, I will let you know.
Calphurnia here, my wife, stays me at home:
She dreamt to-night she saw my statue,
Which, like a fountain with a hundred spouts,
Did run pure blood; and many lusty Romans
Came smiling, and did bathe their hands in it.
And these does she apply for warnings, portents,
And evils imminent; and on her knee
Hath begg'd, that I will stay at home to-day.
Dec. This dream is all amiss interpreted;
It was a vision, fair and fortunate:

Never paid regard to prodigies or omens. Encountered.

Your statue spouting blood in many pipes,
In which so many smiling Romans bath'd,
Signifies that from you great Rome shall suck
Reviving blood; and that great men shall press
For tinctures, stains, relics, and cognizance.
This by Calphurnia's dream is signified.

Cæs. And this way have you well expounded it.
Dec. I have, when you have heard what I can say:
And know it now: The senate have concluded
To give, this day, a crown to mighty Cæsar.
If you shall send them word, you will not come,
Their minds may change. Besides, it were a mock
Apt to be render'd, for some one to say,
Break up the senate till another time,

When Cæsar's wife shall meet with better dreams.
If Cæsar hide himself, shall they not whisper,
Lo, Cæsar is afraid?

Pardon me, Cæsar; for my dear, dear love
To your proceeding bids me tell you this;
And reason to my love is liable.9'

Cæs. How foolish do your fears seem now, Calphurnia?

I am ashamed I did yield to them.-
Give me my robe, for I will go:-

Enter PUBLIUS, BRUTUS, LIGARIUS, METELLUS,
CASCA, TREBONIUS, and CINNA.

And look where Publius is come to fetch me.
Pub. Good-morrow, Cæsar.
Cæs.

Welcome, Publius.-
What, Brutus, are you stirr'd so early too?-
Good-morrow, Casca.-Caius Ligarius,
Cæsar was ne'er so much your enemy,

As that same ague which hath made you lean.-
What is't o'clock?

Bru.
Cæs. I thank you for your pains and courtesy.

Cæsar, 'tis strucken eight.

Enter ANTONY.

See! Antony, that revels long o' nights,

Is notwithstanding up :

Good-morrow, Antony.

Ant.

So to most noble Cæsar.

Cæs. Bid them prepare within:

I am to blame to be thus waited for.

to conspiracy. The mighty gods defend thee! Thy lover, ARTEMIDORUS.

Here will I stand, till Cæsar pass along
And as a suitor will I give him this.
My heart laments, that virtue cannot live
Out of the teeth of emulation.2

[Exit.

If thou read this, O Cæsar, thou may'st live;.
If not, the fates with traitors do contrive.
SCENE IV-Another Part of the same Street,
before the House of BRUTUS.

Enter PORTIA and LUCIUS.
Por. I pr'ythee, boy, run to the senate-house:
Stay not to answer me, but get thee gone:
Why dost thou stay?

Luc.
To know my errand, madam.
Por. I would have had thee there, and here again,
Ere I can tell thee what thou shouldst do there.-
O Constancy, be strong upon my side!

Set a huge mountain 'tween my heart and tongue!
I have a man's mind, but a woman's might.
How hard it is for women to keep counsel!
Art thou here yet?

Luc.

Madam, what should I do? Run to the Capitol, and nothing else? And so return to you, and nothing else? Por. Yes, bring me word, boy, if thy lord look

well,

Por.
Which way hast
Sooth.

Por. What is't
Sooth.

Come hither, fellow:

thou been?

nius!

I have an hour's talk in store for you;
Remember that you call on me to-day:
Be near me, that I may remember you.

Treb. Cæsar, I will:-and so near will I be,

[Aside. That your best friend shall wish I had been further. Cæs. Good friends, go in, and taste some wine with me;

Por. Thou hast some suit to Cæsar, hast thou not? Sooth. That I have, lady: if it will please Cæsar To be so good to Cæsar, as to hear me,

I shall beseech him to befriend himself.

Por. Why, know'st thou any harm's intended towards him?

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

[Exit.

The throng that follows Cæsar at the heels,
Of senators, of prætors, common suitors,
Will crowd a feeble man almost to death:
I'll get me to a place more void, and there
Speak to great Cæsar as he comes along.
Por. I must go in.-Ah me! how weak a thing
The heart of woman is! O Brutus!
The heavens speed thee in thy enterprise!
Sure the boy heard me :-Brutus hath a suit,
That Cæsar will not grant.-0, 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 say to thee.
[Exeunt.

SCENE I-The Capitol; the Senate silting.
A Crowd of People in the Street leading to the
Capitol: among them ARTEMIDORUS and the
Soothsayer. Flourish. Enter CESAR, BRUTUS,
CASSIUS, CASCA, DECIUS, METELLUS, TREBO-
NIUS, CINNA, ANTONY, LEPIDUS, POPILIUS, PUBLIUS,
and others.

Cæs. The Ides of March are come.
Sooth. Ay, Cæsar; but not gone.
Art. Hail, Cæsar! Read this schedule.
Dec. Trebonius doth desire you to o'er-read,
At your best leisure, this his humble suit.
Subordinate.

Art. O Cæsar, read mine first; for mine's a suit
That touches Cæsar nearer: Read it, great Cæsar.
Cæs. What touches us ourself, shall be last serv'd.
Art. Delay not, Cæsar; read it instantly.
Cæs. What, is the fellow mad?
Pub.
Sirrah, give place.
Cas. What, urge you your petitions in the street?
Come to the Capitol.

CASAR enters the Capitol, the rest following.
All the Senators rise.

Pop. I wish your enterprise to-day may thrive.
Cas. What enterprise, Popilius?