Bru. Do you know them?

Luc. No, fir; their hats are pluckt about their ears,

And half their faces buried in their cloaks,

That by no means I may difcover them
By any mark of favour.

Bru. Let 'em enter.

[ Exit Lucius.

They are the faction. O confpiracy,

Sham'ft thou to fhew thy dangerous 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? Seek none, confpiracy;
Hide it in fmiles and affability:

૧

For if thou 1 path, thy native semblance on,
Not Erebus itself were dim enough,
To hide thee from prevention.

9 P. alters path to march; followed by

• So the three firft fo's; the reft, them H. But path is here a verb, agreeable to

fot 'ema

Shakespeare's custom of converting sub-
Aantives into verbs.

SCENE

SCENE II.

* Enter Caffius, Cafca, Decius, Cinna, Metellus, and Trebonius.

Caf. I think we are too bold upon your rest:
Good morrow, Brutus; do we trouble you?
Bru. I have been up this hour, awake all night.
Know I thefe men, that come along with you?

[* Afide to Caf. Caf. Yes, every man of them; and no man here, But honours you: and every one doth wish,

You had but that opinion of yourself,

Which every, noble Roman bears of

you.

What watchful cares do interpofe themselves
Betwixt your eyes and night?

The fo's, Enter the Confpirators, Caf C.

Gus, &c.

This direction not in the fo's or and this, Metellus Cimber.

G. reads, This, Cafca; Cinna this g

Caf. Shall I intreat a word? [" Caf. and Bru. whisper. Dec. Here lies the caft; doth not the day break here? Cafc. No.

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

Cafe. You fhall confefs that you are both deceiv'd:
Here, as I point my fword, the fun arises ;
Which is a great way growing on the fouth,
Weighing the youthful feafon of the year.

Some two months hence, up higher toward the north
He first presents his fire; and the high eaft
Stands, as the capitol, directly here.

Bru. Give me your hands all over, one by one.
Caf: And let us fwear our refolution.

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

The sufferance of our fouls, the time's abuse-
If these be motives weak, break off betimes,
And every man hence to his idle bed:
So let high-fighted tyranny range on,
Till each man drop by lottery. But if thefe,
As I am fure they do, bear fire enough
To kindle cowards, and to fteel with valour
The melting fpirits of women; then, countrymen,
What need we any fpur, but our own cause,
To prick us to redrefs? what other bond,
Than fecret Romans, that have fpoke the word,
And will not palter? and what other oath,
Than honefty to honefty engag'd,

"For Caf. and Bru. wkifjer, C. diæcts, converse apart ; the rest, They robifper.

1

w T. E. and W. read that for note * W. fate for face.

That

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

Nor th' infuppreffive mettle of our fpirits,

To think, that or our caufe, or our perforinance,
z Did need an oath; when every drop of blood
That every Roman bears, and nobly bears,
Is guilty of a feveral baftardy,

If he do break the fmalleft particle
Of any promise that hath past from him.

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

Cin. No, by no means.

Met. O let us have him; for his filver hairs.
Will purchase us a good opinion,

And buy men's 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.

YW, propofes frain for flain. * H. Deth for Did.

a So the three first fo's and C; the reft, dorb for de.

D 3

Cafe.

b

Cafe. Indeed, he is not fit.

Dec. Shall no man elfe be touch'd, but only Cafar?

Caf. Decius, well urg'd; I think it is not meet,
Mark Antony, fo well belov'd of Cafar,
Should out-live Cæfar: we fhall find of him
A fhrewd contriver; and you know, his means,
If he improve them, may well ftretch so 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 Cæfar.

Let us be facrificers, but not butchers, Caius.
We all ftand up against the spirit of Cafar;
And in the spirit of men there is no blood:
O that we then could come by Cafar's fpirit,

f

And not difmember Cæfar! But, alas!
Cæfar 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 carcafs fit for hounds:
And let our hearts, as fubtle mafters do,
Stir up their fervants to an act of rage,