If the redress will follow, thou receiv'st
Thy full petition, at the hand of Brutus!

Enter LUCIUS.

Luc. Sir, March is wasted fourteen days.

[Knocks within.

Bru. "Tis good. Go to the gate; somebody knocks. [Exit Lucius.

Since Cassius first did whet me against Cæsar,
I have not slept-

Between the acting of a dreadful thing,
And the first motion, all the interim is
Like a phantasma, or a hideous dream :
The genius and the mortal instruments
Are then in council; and the state of man,
Like to a little kingdom, suffers then,

The nature of an insurrection.

Enter LUCIUS.

Luc. Sir, 'tis your brother Cassius at the door,

Who doth desire to see you.

Bru. Is he alone?

:

Luc. No, sir, there are more with him.

Bru. Do you know them ?

Luc. No, sir; their faces are buried in their robes,

That by no means I may discover them,

By any mark of favour.

Bru. Let them enter.

They are the faction. O conspiracy!

[Erit LUCIUS.

Sham'st thou to show 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 monstrous visage; seek none, conspiracy,

Hide it in smiles and affability;

For if thou put thy native semblance on,

Not Erebus itself were dim enough

To hide thee from prevention.

D

Enter CASSIUS, CASCA, DECIUS, CINNA, METELLUS,

and TREBONIUS.

Cas. 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 these men, that come along with you?

[Aside.

Cas. 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.
This is Trebonius.

Bru. He is welcome hither.
Cas. This is Decius Brutus.
Bru. He is welcome, too.
Cas. This Casca; this Cinna;

And this, Metellus Cimber.

Bru. They are all welcome.

What watchful cares do interpose themselves,
Betwixt your eyes and night?

[They whisper.

Cas. Shall I entreat a word?
Dec. Here lies the east: Doth not the day break

here?

Casca. No..

Cin. O pardon, sir, it doth; and yon grey lines,

That fret the clouds, are messengers of day.

Casca. You shall confess, that you are both de

ceiv'd;

Here, as I point my sword, the sun arises,
Which is a great way growing on the south,
Weighing the youthful season of the year.
Some two months hence, up higher toward the north,
He first presents his fire, and the high east
Stands as the capitol, directly here.

Bru. Give me your hands all over, one by one.

Cas. And let us swear our resolution.

Bru. No, not an oath-if that the face of men,

The sufferance of our souls, the time's abuse,
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 valour
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? and what other oath,
Than honesty to honesty engag'd,
That this shall be, or we will fall by it?
Swear priests and cowards, 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 enterprize,

Nor th' insuppressive metal of our spirits,
To think, that, or our cause, or our performance,
Did need an oath. When ev'ry drop of blood,
That ev'ry Roman bears, and nobly bears,
Is guilty of a several bastardy,
If he doth break the smallest particle,
Of any promise that hath pass'd his lips.

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.

Bru. O, name him not; let us not break with him;

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 urg'd; 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 ;-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 not butchers, Caius.
We all stand up against the spirit of Cæsar,
And in the spirit of man, there is no blood: -
Oh, 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 this shall make

Our purpose necessary, not envious:
Which so appearing to the common eyes,
We shall be called 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 do I fear him;

For, in th' ingrafted love he bears to Cæsar

Bru. Alas, good Cassius, do not think of him:
If he loves Cæsar, all that he can do,
Is to himself, take thought, and die for Cæsar;
And that were much, he should; for he is giv'n
To sports, to wildness, and much company.

Tre. There is no fear in him; let him not die;

For he will live and laugh at this hereafter.

[Clock strikes Three.

Bru. Peace! count the clock.
Tre. Tis time to part.
Cas. The clock has stricken three.
Casca. But it is doubtful yet,
If Cæsar will come forth to-day, or no;
For he is superstitious grown of late.
It may be, these apparent prodigies,
The unaccustom'd terrors 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.
He says, 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.

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 to him: He loves me well; and I have given him reasons; Send him but hither, and I'll fashion him.

Cas. The morning comes upon's; we will leave you, Brutus;

And, friends, disperse yourselves; but all remember What you have said, and show yourselves true Ro

mans,

Bru. Good gentlemen, look fresh and merrily; Let not our looks put on our purposes;