Act III · Scene I
Rome. Before the Capitol; the Senate sitting above.
Hover a speech to translate it — or press play to hear it performed.
A crowd of people; among them ARTEMIDORUS and the Soothsayer. Flourish. Enter CAESAR, BRUTUS, CASSIUS, CASCA, DECIUS BRUTUS, METELLUS CIMBER, TREBONIUS, CINNA, ANTONY, LEPIDUS, POPILIUS, PUBLIUS, and others
CAESAR
[To the Soothsayer] The ides of March are come.
Soothsayer
Ay, Caesar; but not gone.
ARTEMIDORUS
Hail, Caesar! read this schedule.
DECIUS BRUTUS
Trebonius doth desire you to o'erread,At your best leisure, this his humble suit.
ARTEMIDORUS
O Caesar, read mine first; for mine's a suitThat touches Caesar nearer: read it, great Caesar.
CAESAR
What touches us ourself shall be last served.
ARTEMIDORUS
Delay not, Caesar; read it instantly.
CAESAR
What, is the fellow mad?
PUBLIUS
Sirrah, give place.
CASSIUS
What, urge you your petitions in the street?Come to the Capitol.
CAESAR goes up to the Senate-House, the rest following
POPILIUS
I wish your enterprise to-day may thrive.
CASSIUS
What enterprise, Popilius?
POPILIUS
Fare you well.
Advances to CAESAR
BRUTUS
What said Popilius Lena?
CASSIUS
He wish'd to-day our enterprise might thrive.I fear our purpose is discovered.
BRUTUS
Look, how he makes to Caesar; mark him.
CASSIUS
Casca, be sudden, for we fear prevention.Brutus, what shall be done? If this be known,Cassius or Caesar never shall turn back,For I will slay myself.
BRUTUS
Cassius, be constant:Popilius Lena speaks not of our purposes;For, look, he smiles, and Caesar doth not change.
CASSIUS
Trebonius knows his time; for, look you, Brutus.He draws Mark Antony out of the way.
Exeunt ANTONY and TREBONIUS
DECIUS BRUTUS
Where is Metellus Cimber? Let him go,And presently prefer his suit to Caesar.
BRUTUS
He is address'd: press near and second him.
CINNA
Casca, you are the first that rears your hand.
CAESAR
Are we all ready? What is now amissThat Caesar and his senate must redress?
METELLUS CIMBER
Most high, most mighty, and most puissant Caesar,Metellus Cimber throws before thy seatAn humble heart,--
Kneeling
CAESAR
I must prevent thee, Cimber.These couchings and these lowly courtesiesMight fire the blood of ordinary men,And turn pre-ordinance and first decreeInto the law of children. Be not fond,To think that Caesar bears such rebel bloodThat will be thaw'd from the true qualityWith that which melteth fools; I mean, sweet words,Low-crooked court'sies and base spaniel-fawning.Thy brother by decree is banished:If thou dost bend and pray and fawn for him,I spurn thee like a cur out of my way.Know, Caesar doth not wrong, nor without causeWill he be satisfied.
METELLUS CIMBER
Is there no voice more worthy than my ownTo sound more sweetly in great Caesar's earFor the repealing of my banish'd brother?
BRUTUS
I kiss thy hand, but not in flattery, Caesar;Desiring thee that Publius Cimber mayHave an immediate freedom of repeal.
CAESAR
What, Brutus!
CASSIUS
Pardon, Caesar; Caesar, pardon:As low as to thy foot doth Cassius fall,To beg enfranchisement for Publius Cimber.
CAESAR
I could be well moved, if I were as you:If I could pray to move, prayers would move me:But I am constant as the northern star,Of whose true-fix'd and resting qualityThere is no fellow in the firmament.The skies are painted with unnumber'd sparks,They are all fire and every one doth shine,But there's but one in all doth hold his place:So in the world; 'tis furnish'd well with men,And men are flesh and blood, and apprehensive;Yet in the number I do know but oneThat unassailable holds on his rank,Unshaked of motion: and that I am he,Let me a little show it, even in this;That I was constant Cimber should be banish'd,And constant do remain to keep him so.
CINNA
O Caesar,--
CAESAR
Hence! wilt thou lift up Olympus?
DECIUS BRUTUS
Great Caesar,--
CAESAR
Doth not Brutus bootless kneel?
CASCA
Speak, hands for me!
CASCA first, then the other Conspirators and BRUTUS stab CAESAR
CAESAR
Et tu, Brute! Then fall, Caesar.
Dies
CINNA
Liberty! Freedom! Tyranny is dead!Run hence, proclaim, cry it about the streets.
CASSIUS
Some to the common pulpits, and cry out'Liberty, freedom, and enfranchisement!'
BRUTUS
People and senators, be not affrighted;Fly not; stand stiff: ambition's debt is paid.
CASCA
Go to the pulpit, Brutus.
DECIUS BRUTUS
And Cassius too.
BRUTUS
Where's Publius?
CINNA
Here, quite confounded with this mutiny.
METELLUS CIMBER
Stand fast together, lest some friend of Caesar'sShould chance--
BRUTUS
Talk not of standing. Publius, good cheer;There is no harm intended to your person,Nor to no Roman else: so tell them, Publius.
CASSIUS
And leave us, Publius; lest that the people,Rushing on us, should do your age some mischief.
BRUTUS
Do so: and let no man abide this deed,But we the doers.
Re-enter TREBONIUS
CASSIUS
Where is Antony?
TREBONIUS
Fled to his house amazed:Men, wives and children stare, cry out and runAs it were doomsday.
BRUTUS
Fates, we will know your pleasures:That we shall die, we know; 'tis but the timeAnd drawing days out, that men stand upon.
CASSIUS
Why, he that cuts off twenty years of lifeCuts off so many years of fearing death.
BRUTUS
Grant that, and then is death a benefit:So are we Caesar's friends, that have abridgedHis time of fearing death. Stoop, Romans, stoop,And let us bathe our hands in Caesar's bloodUp to the elbows, and besmear our swords:Then walk we forth, even to the market-place,And, waving our red weapons o'er our heads,Let's all cry 'Peace, freedom and liberty!'
CASSIUS
Stoop, then, and wash. How many ages henceShall this our lofty scene be acted overIn states unborn and accents yet unknown!
BRUTUS
How many times shall Caesar bleed in sport,That now on Pompey's basis lies alongNo worthier than the dust!
CASSIUS
So oft as that shall be,So often shall the knot of us be call'dThe men that gave their country liberty.
DECIUS BRUTUS
What, shall we forth?
CASSIUS
Ay, every man away:Brutus shall lead; and we will grace his heelsWith the most boldest and best hearts of Rome.
Enter a Servant
BRUTUS
Soft! who comes here? A friend of Antony's.
Servant
Thus, Brutus, did my master bid me kneel:Thus did Mark Antony bid me fall down;And, being prostrate, thus he bade me say:Brutus is noble, wise, valiant, and honest;Caesar was mighty, bold, royal, and loving:Say I love Brutus, and I honour him;Say I fear'd Caesar, honour'd him and loved him.If Brutus will vouchsafe that AntonyMay safely come to him, and be resolvedHow Caesar hath deserved to lie in death,Mark Antony shall not love Caesar deadSo well as Brutus living; but will followThe fortunes and affairs of noble BrutusThorough the hazards of this untrod stateWith all true faith. So says my master Antony.
BRUTUS
Thy master is a wise and valiant Roman;I never thought him worse.Tell him, so please him come unto this place,He shall be satisfied; and, by my honour,Depart untouch'd.
Servant
I'll fetch him presently.
Exit
BRUTUS
I know that we shall have him well to friend.
CASSIUS
I wish we may: but yet have I a mindThat fears him much; and my misgiving stillFalls shrewdly to the purpose.
BRUTUS
But here comes Antony.
Re-enter ANTONY
BRUTUS
Welcome, Mark Antony.
ANTONY
O mighty Caesar! dost thou lie so low?Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils,Shrunk to this little measure? Fare thee well.I know not, gentlemen, what you intend,Who else must be let blood, who else is rank:If I myself, there is no hour so fitAs Caesar's death hour, nor no instrumentOf half that worth as those your swords, made richWith the most noble blood of all this world.I do beseech ye, if you bear me hard,Now, whilst your purpled hands do reek and smoke,Fulfil your pleasure. Live a thousand years,I shall not find myself so apt to die:No place will please me so, no mean of death,As here by Caesar, and by you cut off,The choice and master spirits of this age.
BRUTUS
O Antony, beg not your death of us.Though now we must appear bloody and cruel,As, by our hands and this our present act,You see we do, yet see you but our handsAnd this the bleeding business they have done:Our hearts you see not; they are pitiful;And pity to the general wrong of Rome--As fire drives out fire, so pity pity--Hath done this deed on Caesar. For your part,To you our swords have leaden points, Mark Antony:Our arms, in strength of malice, and our heartsOf brothers' temper, do receive you inWith all kind love, good thoughts, and reverence.
CASSIUS
Your voice shall be as strong as any man'sIn the disposing of new dignities.
BRUTUS
Only be patient till we have appeasedThe multitude, beside themselves with fear,And then we will deliver you the cause,Why I, that did love Caesar when I struck him,Have thus proceeded.
ANTONY
I doubt not of your wisdom.Let each man render me his bloody hand:First, Marcus Brutus, will I shake with you;Next, Caius Cassius, do I take your hand;Now, Decius Brutus, yours: now yours, Metellus;Yours, Cinna; and, my valiant Casca, yours;Though last, not last in love, yours, good Trebonius.Gentlemen all,--alas, what shall I say?My credit now stands on such slippery ground,That one of two bad ways you must conceit me,Either a coward or a flatterer.That I did love thee, Caesar, O, 'tis true:If then thy spirit look upon us now,Shall it not grieve thee dearer than thy death,To see thy thy Anthony making his peace,Shaking the bloody fingers of thy foes,Most noble! in the presence of thy corse?Had I as many eyes as thou hast wounds,Weeping as fast as they stream forth thy blood,It would become me better than to closeIn terms of friendship with thine enemies.Pardon me, Julius! Here wast thou bay'd, brave hart;Here didst thou fall; and here thy hunters stand,Sign'd in thy spoil, and crimson'd in thy lethe.O world, thou wast the forest to this hart;And this, indeed, O world, the heart of thee.How like a deer, strucken by many princes,Dost thou here lie!
CASSIUS
Mark Antony,--
ANTONY
Pardon me, Caius Cassius:The enemies of Caesar shall say this;Then, in a friend, it is cold modesty.
CASSIUS
I blame you not for praising Caesar so;But what compact mean you to have with us?Will you be prick'd in number of our friends;Or shall we on, and not depend on you?
ANTONY
Therefore I took your hands, but was, indeed,Sway'd from the point, by looking down on Caesar.Friends am I with you all and love you all,Upon this hope, that you shall give me reasonsWhy and wherein Caesar was dangerous.
BRUTUS
Or else were this a savage spectacle:Our reasons are so full of good regardThat were you, Antony, the son of Caesar,You should be satisfied.
ANTONY
That's all I seek:And am moreover suitor that I mayProduce his body to the market-place;And in the pulpit, as becomes a friend,Speak in the order of his funeral.
BRUTUS
You shall, Mark Antony.
CASSIUS
Brutus, a word with you.
Aside to BRUTUS
CASSIUS
You know not what you do: do not consentThat Antony speak in his funeral:Know you how much the people may be movedBy that which he will utter?
BRUTUS
By your pardon;I will myself into the pulpit first,And show the reason of our Caesar's death:What Antony shall speak, I will protestHe speaks by leave and by permission,And that we are contented Caesar shallHave all true rites and lawful ceremonies.It shall advantage more than do us wrong.
CASSIUS
I know not what may fall; I like it not.
BRUTUS
Mark Antony, here, take you Caesar's body.You shall not in your funeral speech blame us,But speak all good you can devise of Caesar,And say you do't by our permission;Else shall you not have any hand at allAbout his funeral: and you shall speakIn the same pulpit whereto I am going,After my speech is ended.
ANTONY
Be it so.I do desire no more.
BRUTUS
Prepare the body then, and follow us.
Exeunt all but ANTONY
ANTONY
O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth,That I am meek and gentle with these butchers!Thou art the ruins of the noblest manThat ever lived in the tide of times.Woe to the hand that shed this costly blood!Over thy wounds now do I prophesy,--Which, like dumb mouths, do ope their ruby lips,To beg the voice and utterance of my tongue--A curse shall light upon the limbs of men;Domestic fury and fierce civil strifeShall cumber all the parts of Italy;Blood and destruction shall be so in useAnd dreadful objects so familiarThat mothers shall but smile when they beholdTheir infants quarter'd with the hands of war;All pity choked with custom of fell deeds:And Caesar's spirit, ranging for revenge,With Ate by his side come hot from hell,Shall in these confines with a monarch's voiceCry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war;That this foul deed shall smell above the earthWith carrion men, groaning for burial.
Enter a Servant
ANTONY
You serve Octavius Caesar, do you not?
Servant
I do, Mark Antony.
ANTONY
Caesar did write for him to come to Rome.
Servant
He did receive his letters, and is coming;And bid me say to you by word of mouth--O Caesar!--
Seeing the body
ANTONY
Thy heart is big, get thee apart and weep.Passion, I see, is catching; for mine eyes,Seeing those beads of sorrow stand in thine,Began to water. Is thy master coming?
Servant
He lies to-night within seven leagues of Rome.
ANTONY
Post back with speed, and tell him what hath chanced:Here is a mourning Rome, a dangerous Rome,No Rome of safety for Octavius yet;Hie hence, and tell him so. Yet, stay awhile;Thou shalt not back till I have borne this corseInto the market-place: there shall I tryIn my oration, how the people takeThe cruel issue of these bloody men;According to the which, thou shalt discourseTo young Octavius of the state of things.Lend me your hand.
Exeunt with CAESAR's body