THE LIVES OF THE NOBLE GRE- CIANS AND ROMANES, COMPARED Plutarke of Charonea: Tranflated out of Grecke into French by IAMES AMIOT, Abbot of Bello- Thomas North. the footnotes to the text. These will show that in most of the leading incidents the great Greek biographer is closely followed, though in many cases these incidents are worked out and developed with rare fertility of invention and art. It is very significant that in the second half of The Life of Julius Cæsar, which Shakespeare draws upon very heav、 ily, Plutarch emphasizes those weaknesses of Cæsar which are made so prominent in the play. Besides this, in many places the Plutarchian form and order of thought, and also the very words of North's racy and delectable English are retained, with such an embalming for immortality as Shakespeare alone could give.1 In Julius Cæsar Shakespeare's indebtedness to North's Plutarch may be summed up as extending to (1) the general story of the play; (2) minor incidents and happenings, as Cæsar's falling-sickness, the omens before his death, and the writings thrown in Brutus's way; (3) touches of detail, as in the description of Cassius's "lean and hungry look" and of Antony's tastes and personal habits; and (4) noteworthy expressions, phrases, and single words, as in III, ii, 240-241, 246-248; IV, iii, 2; IV, iii, 178; V, i, 80-81; V, iii, 109. On the other hand, Shakespeare's alteration of Plutarchian material is along the lines of (1) idealization, as in the characters of Brutus and Cassius; (2) amplification, as in the use Antony makes of Cæsar's rent and bloody mantle; and (3) simplification and compression. of the action for dramatic effect, as in making Cæsar's 1 See Trench's Lectures on Plutarch, Leo's Four Chapters of North's Plutarch, and Delius's Shakespeare's Julius Cæsar und seine Quellen in Plutarch (Shakespeare Jahrbuch, XVII, 67). AN AVNCIENT Hiftorie and exquifite Chronicle of the Romanes warres,both Ciuile and Foren. Written in Greeke by the noble Orator and Histor riographer, Appran of Alexandria, one of the learned Counfell to the most mightie Emperoures, Traiane and Adriane, In the which is declared : Their greedy defire to conquere others, Their picking of quarels to fall out at home. All the degrees of Sedution, and all the effects of Ambition. And finally, an euident demonftration, That peoples rule muft gine place,and Princes power presagie. With a continuation, bicause that parte of Appian is not extant,from the death of Sext Pompeius,fecond fonne to Pompey the Great, sill the overthrow of Antonic and Cleo patra,after the which time, Ofanianm Cafer, had the Lordship of all,alone. Βασιλίδι μάτιση, δεσπότιδι τ ÉTIGXİSATH. triumph take place at the time of "the feast of Lupercal," in the treatment of the quarrel between Brutus and Cassius, which in Plutarch lasts for two days, and in making the two battles of Philippi occur on the same day. See note, p. 159, 11. 109-110. See also below, The Scene of the Assassination. 2. Appian's Roman Wars. In 1578 there was published in London an English translation of the extant portions of Appian's History of the Roman Wars both Civil and Foreign, with the interesting title page shown in facsimile on page xi. In this translation of Appian the events before and after Cæsar's death are described minutely and with many graphic touches. Compare, for example, with the quotation from Plutarch given in the note, p. 68, l. 33, this account of the same incident in Appian: "The day before that Cæsar should go to the senate, he had him at a banquet with Lepidus... and talking merrily what death was best for a man, some saying one and some another, he of all praised sudden death." Here are some of the marginal summaries in Appian : "Cæsar refuseth the name of King,” “A crown upon Cæsar's image by one that was apprehended of the tribunes Marullus and Sitius," "Cæsar hath the FallingSickness," "Cæsar's Wife (hath) a fearful Dream," "Cæsar contemneth sacrifices of evil Luck," "Cæsar giveth over when Brutus had stricken him," "The fear of the Conspirators," "The bad Angel of Brutus." 66 What gives interest and distinction to Appian's translation as a probable source for material in Julius Cæsar is that in it we have speeches by Antony, Brutus, and Lepidus at the time of the reading of Cæsar's will. In this translation Antony's first speech begins, "They that would have voices tried upon Cæsar must know afore that if he ruled as an officer lawfully chosen, then all his acts and decrees must stand in force. . . On Antony's second speech the comment is, "Thus wrought Antony artificially." His speech to the Senate begins, "Silence being commanded, he said thus, 'Of the citizens offenders (you men of equal honour) in this your consultation I have said nothing. . . ." The speech of Lepidus to the people has this setting: "When he was come to the place of speech he lamented, weeping, and thus said, 'Here I was yesterday with Cæsar, and now am I here to inquire of Cæsar's death. Cæsar is gone from us, an holy and honourable man in deed.'" The effect of this speech is commented on as follows: "Handling the matter thus craftily, the hired men, knowing that he was ambitious, praised him and exhorted him to take the office of Cæsar's priesthood." A long speech by Brutus follows the reading of Cæsar's will. It begins: "Now, O citizens, we be here with you that yesterday were in the common court not as men fleeing to the temple that have done amiss, nor as to a fort, having committed all we have to you. . . We have heard what hath been objected against us of our enemies, touching the oath and touching cause of doubt. . The effect of this speech is thus described : "Whiles Brutus thus spake, all the hearers considering with themselves that he spake nothing but right, did like them well, and as men of courage and lovers of the people, had them in great admiration and were turned into their favour." 3. Earlier Plays. As already mentioned, England had plays on the subject of Julius Cæsar from the first years of Elizabeth's reign. As not one of these earlier plays is |
