Bru.

Hark, he is arriv'd:

March gently on to meet him.

Enter CASSIUS and Soldiers.

Cas. Stand, ho!

Bru. Stand, ho! Speak the word along.

Within. Stand.

Within. Stand.

Within. Stand.

Cas. Most noble brother, you have done me wrong. Bru. Judge me, you gods! Wrong I mine enemies? And, if not so, how should I wrong a brother? Cas. Brutus, this sober form of yours hides wrongs; And when you do them

Bru.

2

Cassius, be content,

Speak your griefs softly,-I do know you well:-
Before the eyes of both our armies here,

Which should perceive nothing but love from us,
Let us not wrangle: Bid them move away;
Then in my tent, Cassius, enlarge your griefs,
And I will give you audience.

Cas.

Pindarus, Bid our commanders lead their charges off

A little from this ground.

Bru. Lucilius, do you the like; and let no man Come to our tent, till we have done our conference. Let Lucius and Titinius guard our door. [Exeunt.

SCENE III. Within the Tent of Brutus.

Lucius and Titinius at some distance from it. Enter BRUTUS and CASSIUS.

Cas. That have wrong'd me, doth you

appear

in

this: You have condemn'd and noted Lucius Pella, For taking bribes here of the Sardians ;

2 See note 10, p. 341, ante,

Wherein, my letters, praying on his side,
Because I knew the man, were slighted off.
Bru. You wrong'd yourself, to write in such a case.
Cas. In such a time as this, it is not meet
That every nice1 offence should bear his comment.
Bru. Let me tell you, Cassius, you yourself
Are much condemn'd to have an itching palm;
To sell and mart your offices for gold,

To undeservers.

Cas.

I an itching palm?

You know, that you are Brutus that speak this, Or, by the gods, this speech were else your last.

Bru. The name of Cassius honours this corruption, And chastisement doth therefore hide his head. Cas. Chastisement!

Bru. Remember March, the ides of March remember!

Did not great Julius bleed for justice sake? What villain touch'd his body, that did stab, And not for justice?? What, shall one of us, That struck the foremost man of all this world, But for supporting robbers; shall we now Contaminate our fingers with base bribes? And sell the mighty space of our large honours, For so much trash, as may be grasped thus?— I had rather be a dog, and bay the moon, Than such a Roman.

Cas.

3

Brutus, bay not me,

1 Nice here means silly, simple. See vol. iii. p. 393, note 6. 2 This question is far from implying that any of those who touched Cæsar's body were villains. On the contrary, it is an indirect way of asserting that there was not one man among them who was base enough to stab him for any cause but that of justice.

3 The old copy reads, Brutus, bait not me.' Theobald made the alteration, which has been adopted by all subsequent editors except Malone. The fact is, that bay and bait are both fre quently used by Shakspeare in the same sense, and as the repetition of the word used by Brutus seems to add spirit to the reply, I have continued it in the text.

I'll not endure it: you forget yourself,
To hedge me in; I am a soldier, I
Older in practice, abler than yourself
To make conditions 5.

Bru.

Cas. I am.

Go to; you're not, Cassius.

Bru. I say, you are not.

Cas. Urge me no more, I shall forget myself; Have mind upon your health, tempt me no further. Bru. Away, slight man!

Cas. Is't possible?

Bru. Hear me, for I will speak. Must I give way and room to your rash choler? Shall I be frighted, when a madman stares?

Cas. O ye gods! ye gods! Must I endure all this?
Bru. All this? ay, more: Fret, till your proud
heart break;

Go, show your slaves how cholerick you are,
And make your bondmen tremble. Must I budge?
Must I observe you? Must I stand and crouch
Under your testy humour? By the gods,
You shall digest the venom of your spleen,
Though it do split you: for, from this day forth,
I'll use you for my mirth, yea, for my laughter,
When you are waspish.

Cas.

Is it come to this?
Bru. You say, you are a better soldier:
Let it appear so; make your vaunting true,
And it shall please me well: For mine own part,
I shall be glad to learn of noble men.

i. e. to limit my authority by your direction or censure. 5 To know on what terms it is fit to confer the offices at my disposal.

This passage (says Steevens) may be easily reduced to metre if we read :

Cas. Brutus, I am.

Bru.

Cassius, I say you are not.'

Cas. You wrong me every way, you wrong me,

Brutus ;

I said, an elder soldier, not a better:

If you did, I care not.

Cas. When Cæsar liv'd, he durst not thus have mov'd me.

Bru. Peace, peace; you durst not so have tempted him.

Cas. I durst not?

Bru. No.

Cas. What? durst not tempt him?

Bru.

For your life you durst not.

Cas. Do not presume too much upon my love,

I may do that I shall be sorry for.

threats;

Bru. You have done that you should be sorry for. There is no terror, Cassius, in your For I am arm'd so strong in honesty,

you

That they pass by me, as the idle wind,
Which I respect not. I did send to you
For certain sums of gold, which denied me;-
For I can raise no money by vile means:
By heaven, I had rather coin my heart,
And drop my blood for drachmas, than to wring
From the hard hands of peasants their vile trash,
By any indirection. I did send

To you for gold to pay my legions,

Which you denied me: Was that done like Cassius?
Should I have answer'd Caius Cassius so?
When Marcus Brutus grows so covetous,
To lock such rascal counters from his friends,
Be ready, gods, with all your thunderbolts,
Dash him to pieces!

Cas.

Bru. You did.

Cas.

I denied you not.

I did not; he was but a fool

That brought my answer back.-Brutus hath riv'd my heart:

A friend should bear his friend's infirmities,
But Brutus makes mine greater than they are.
Bru. I do not, till you practise them on me.
Cas. You love me not.

Bru.

I do not like your faults.

Cas. A friendly eye could never see such faults.

Bru. A flatterer's would not, though they do appear As huge as high Olympus.

Cas. Come, Antony, and young Octavius, come, Revenge yourselves alone on Cassius,

For Cassius is aweary of the world:

Hated by one he loves; brav'd by his brother;
Check'd like a bondman; all his faults observ'd,
Set in a note-book, learn'd, and conn'd by rote,
To cast into my teeth. O, I could weep
My spirit from mine eyes!—There is my dagger,
And here my naked breast; within, a heart
Dearer than Plutus' mine, richer than gold:
If that thou be'st a Roman, take it forth;
I, that denied thee gold, will give my heart:
Strike as thou didst at Cæsar; for, I know,
When thou didst hate him worst, thou lov'dst him

better

Than ever thou lov'dst Cassius.

Be

Bru.

Sheath your dagger: angry when you will, it shall have scope; Do what you will, dishonour shall be humour. O Cassius, you are yoked with a lamb That carries anger, as the flint bears fire; Who, much enforced, shows a hasty spark, And straight is cold again.

7 The meaning is this: I do not look for your faults, I only see them, and mention them with vehemence, when you force them into my notice, by practising them on me."

VOL. VIII.

I I