BRUTUS.

Cæsar, thou canst not die by traitors' hands,
Unless thou bring'st them with thee.

OCTAVIUS.

So I hope,

I was not born to die on Brutus' sword 1).

BRUTUS.

O! if thou wert the noblest of thy strain,
Young man, thou could'st not die more honourable.

CASSIUS.

A peevish school-boy, worthless of such honour,
Join'd with a masker and a reveller.

Defiance, traitors, hurl we in your teeth.
If you dare fight to-day, come to the field;
If not, when you have stomachs.

[Exeunt OCTAVIUS, ANTONY, and their army.

CASSIUS.

Why now, blow wind, swell billow, and swim bark!
The storm is up, and all is on the hazard.

BRUTUS.

Ho! Lucilius; hark, a word with you.

1) d. i. dus heb ik hoop van niet door Brutus hand te zullen sterven, daar immers Brutus een verrader is.

This is my birth-day: at this very day

Was Cassius born. Give me thy hand, Messala :
Be thou my witness, that against my will,
As Pompey was, am I compell'd to set
Upon one battle all our liberties.
You know that I held Epicurus strong,
And his opinion: now I change my mind,
And partly credit things that do presage.
Coming from Sardis, on our former 1) ensign
Two mighty eagles fell; and there they perch'd,
Gorging and feeding from our soldiers' hands;
Who to Philippi here consorted us:

This morning are they fled away and gone,
And in their steads do ravens, crows, and kites,
Fly o'er our heads, and downward look on us,
As we were sickly prey: their shadows seem
A canopy most fatal, under which

Our army lies, ready to give up the ghost 2).

Believe not so.

MESSALA.

1) Former wordt door Shakespeare en zijn tijdgenooten niet alleen gebruikt van hetgeen in tijd, maar ook van hetgeen in plaats, in orde het eerste is.

2) Vóór ready is een halve maat pauze.

CASSIUS.

I but believe it partly,

For I am fresh of spirit, and resolv'd
To meet all perils very constantly.

Now, most noble Brutus,

The gods to-day stand friendly, that we may,
Lovers in peace, lead on our days to age 2)!
But since the affairs of men rest still incertain,
Let's reason with the worst that may befall.
If we do lose this battle, then is this
The very last time we shall speak together:
What are you then determined to do?

BRUTUS.

Even by the rule of that philosophy,
By which I did blame Cato for the death
Which he did give himself: I know not how,
But I do find it cowardly and vile,

For fear of what might fall, so to prevent

The time of life: arming myself with patience,
To stay 3) the providence of some high powers,
That govern us below.

CASSIUS.

Then, if we lose this battle,

1) Met deze woorden besluit Brutus het gesprek, dat hij intusschen uit Lucilius heeft gevoerd.

2) d. i. mogen de Goden ons dezen dag hun gunst betoonen, opdat wij, in vriendschap en vrede met elkander, een hoogen ouderdom mogen bereiken!

3) d. i. af te wachten.

You are contented to be led in triumph
Thorough the streets of Rome?

BRUTUS.

No, Cassius, no: think not, thou noble Roman,
That ever Brutus will go bound to Rome;
He bears too great a mind: but this same day
Must end that work the ides of March begun,
And whether we shall meet again, I know not.
Therefore, our everlasting farewell take 1):
For ever, and for ever, farewell, Cassius.
If we do meet again, why, we shall smile;
If not, why, then this parting was well made.

CASSIUS.

For ever, and for ever, farewell, Brutus.
If we do meet again, we 'll smile indeed;
If not, 't is true this parting was well made.

Why then, lead on.

BRUTUS.

O, that a man might know

The end of this day's business, ere it come!

But it sufficeth that the day will end,

And then the end is known. Come, ho! away!

Ride, ride, Messala, ride, and give these bills.

Unto the legions on the other side.

Let them set on at once; for I perceive

But cold demeanour in Octavius' wing,

4) Take is hier voor take we, let us take.

[Exeunt.

[Loud alarum.

And sudden push gives them the overthrow.
Ride, ride, Msssala: let them all come down.

[Exeunt

SCENE III.

Another part of the field.

Alarum. Enter CASSIUS and TITINIUS.

CASSIUS.

O, look, Titinius, look, the villains fly!
Myself have to mine own turn'd enemy:
This ensign 1) here of mine was turning back;
I slew the coward, and did take it from him.

TITINIUS.

O Cassius! Brutus gave the word 2) too early;
Who, having some advantage on Octavius,
Took it too eagerly: his soldiers fell to spoil,
Whilst we by Antony are all enclos'd.

Enter PINDARUS.

PINDARUS.

Fly further off, my lord, fly further off;
Mark Antony is in your tents, my lord:
Fly, therefore, noble Cassius, fly far off.

CASSIUS.

This hill is far enough. Look, look, Titinius;
Are those my tents where I perceive the fire?

They are, my lord.

TITINIUS.

1) Ensign heeft de beteekenis zoowel van den standaarddrager als van den standaard.

2) The word is hier het woord, het bevel tot den aanval.