Cli. What ill request did Brutus make to thee?
Dar. To kill him, Clitus. Look, he meditates.
Cli. Now is that noble vessel full of grief,
That it runs over even at his eyes.

Bru. Come hither, good Volumnius; list a word.
Vol. What says my lord?

Bru.

Why, this, Volumnius:
The ghost of Cæsar hath appear'd to me
Two several times by night; at Sardis once,
And this last night here in Philippi fields:

I know my hour is come.

Vol.

Not so, my lord.

Bru. Nay, I am sure it is, Volumnius,

Thou seest the world, Volumnius, how it goes;

20

Our enemies have beat us to the pit: [Low alarums.

It is more worthy to leap in ourselves,

Than tarry till they push us. Good Volumnius,

Thou know'st that we two went to school together:

Even for that our love of old, I prithee,

Hold thou my sword-hilts, whilst I run on it.

Vol. That's not an office for a friend, my lord.
[Alarum still.
Cli. Fly, fly, my lord; there is no tarrying here. 30
Bru. Farewell to you; and you; and you, Volum-

nius.

Strato, thou hast been all this while asleep;

Farewell to thee, too, Strato.

Countrymen,

My heart doth joy that yet in all my life
I found no man but he was true to me.
I shall have glory by this losing day,
More than Octavius and Mark Antony
By this vile conquest shall attain unto.

So, fare you well at once; for Brutus' tongue

Hath almost ended his life's history:

Night hangs upon mine eyes; my bones would rest, That have but labor'd to attain this hour.

6

[Alarum. Cry within, Fly, fly, fly!

Cli. Fly, my lord, fly.

Bru.

Hence I will follow.

[Exeunt Clitus, Dardanius, and Volumnius.

I prithee, Strato, stay thou by thy lord.
Thou art a fellow of a good respect;
Thy life hath had some smatch of honor in it:
Hold then my sword, and turn away thy face,
While I do run upon it. Wilt thou, Strato?

Stra. Give me your hand first.

lord.

40

Fare you well, my

Bru. Farewell, good Strato.

[Runs on his sword.]

50

Cæsar, now be still:

I kill'd not thee with half so good a will.

[Dies.

Alarum. Retreat. Enter OCTAVIUS, ANTONY,
MESSALA, LUCILIUS, and the army.

Oct. What man is that?

Mes. My master's man. Strato, where is thy

master?

Stra. Free from the bondage you are in, Messala: The conquerors can but make a fire of him; For Brutus only overcame himself,

And no man else hath honor by his death.

Lucil. So Brutus should be found. I thank thee,

Brutus,

That thou hast proved Lucilius' saying true.

Oct. All that served Brutus, I will entertain them. 60 Fellow, wilt thou bestow thy time with me? Stra. Ay, if Messala will prefer me to you. Oct. Do so, good Messala.

Mes. How died my master, Strato?

Stra. I held the sword, and he did run on it. Mes. Octavius, then take him to follow thee, That did the latest service to my master.

Ant. This was the noblest Roman of them all:

All the conspirators, save only he,

Did that they did in envy of great Cæsar;
He only, in a general honest thought

And common good to all, made one of them.
His life was gentle, and the elements

So mix'd in him that Nature might stand up
And say to all the world, This was a man!'

·

Oct. According to his virtue let us use him,
With all respect and rites of burial.
Within my tent his bones to-night shall lie,
Most like a soldier, order'd honorably.
So call the field to rest; and let's away,
To part the glories of this happy day,

70

0

80

[Exeunt.

NOTES AND QUESTIONS.

ACT I.

Scene I.

Suggestion of Scene. An obscure street in Rome. Extending from the left to the center of the stage, and parallel with the footlights, is a row of low houses; two of them have projecting upper stories; the middle one has a shop on each side of the door; in the windows of one of these, images are displayed for sale; in the other, fruits and vegetables; a bunch of chickens, with their legs tied together, lies by the door. At the middle of the stage the street turns diagonally, running toward the back and the right, and here one sees the houses on both sides. The small upper windows are open, and in one is seen a slave woman with a child in her arms. Over the houses, in the distance, rises the Capitoline Hill, crowned with temples. At the bend of the street, several boys are playing, stopping occasionally to listen to the indistinct shouts of the people who are out for a holiday. Pedestrians pass to and fro; a litter is carried by. The curtains part, a woman puts out her head and speaks to the slaves, who turn about, go down the diagonal part of the street, and disappear. From the same direction, the shouts grow louder, and the noisy rabble, in holiday attire, appear. When they reach the bend in the narrow way, windows and doors are suddenly filled with people; from the left come the two tribunes, Flavius and Marullus. The play begins.

3. What word in this line is used in an unusual sense?

5 and 6. The tribunes are public officers, and "gentlemen." The "commoners are workingmen and the rabble.

What differences in dress and manner can you fancy? Also, what difference in mood for several speeches?

9. What are the two most emphatic words in this line?

11. Shakespeare likes to play on words. What two meanings has "cobbler"? Find all the plays on words in the speeches of the Second Commoner, and consider what words must be emphasized to make them emphatic.

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