It may be, I shall otherwise bethink me. Look, Lucius, here's the book I sought for so; I put it in the pocket of my gown. [Servants lie down.- And touch thy instrument a strain or two? Bru. It does, my boy : I trouble thee too much, but thou art willing. Bru. I should not urge thy duty past thy might; Bru. It is well done; and thou shalt sleep again; I will be good to thee. [Musick, and a Song This is a sleepy tune :-O murd'rous slumber! Lay'st thou thy leaden mace upon my boy, That plays thee musick?-Gentle knave, good night; How ill this taper burns!-Ha! who comes here? It comes upon me :-Art thou any thing? 6 thy leaden mace-] A mace is the ancient term for a scep tre. So, in The Arraignment of Paris, 1584: Icok upon my stately grace, "Because the pomp that 'longs to Juno's mace," &c. Steevens, Shakspeare probably remembered Spenser in his Fairy Queen, B. I, cant. iv, st. 44: "When as Morpheus had with leaden mase, "Arrested all that courtly company." H. White. 7 Let me see, let me see;] As these words are wholly unmetrical, we may suppose our author meant to avail himself of the common colloquial phrase. Let's see, let's see. Steevens. Ghost. Thy evil spirit, Brutus. Bru. Why com'st thou? Ghost. To tell thee, thou shalt see me at Philippi. Bru. Well; Then I shall see thee again?8 Ghost. Ay, at Philippi. [Ghost vanishes. Bru. Why, I will see thee at Philippi then.- Ill spirit, I would hold more talk with thee.- 8 Then I shall see thee again?] Shakspeare has on this occa sion deserted his original. It does not appear from Plutarch that the Ghost of Cesar appeared to Brutus, but " a wonderful straunge and monstruous shape of a body." This apparition could not be at once the shade of Casar, and the evil genius of Brutus. "Brutus boldly asked what he was, a god, or a man, and what cause brought him thither. The spirit answered him, I am thy euill spirit, Brutus; and thou shalt see me by the citie of Philippes. Bru. tus beeing no otherwise affrayd, replyed againe vnto it: well, then I shall see thee agayne. The spirit presently vanished away; and Brutus called his men vnto him, who tolde him that they heard no noyse, nor sawe any thing at all." See the story of Cassius Parmensis in Valerius Maximus, Lib. I, c. vii. Steevens. The words which Mr. Steevens has quoted, are from Plutarch's Life of Brutus. Shakspeare had also certainly read Plutarch's account of this vision in the Life of Cæsar: “ Above all, the ghost that appeared unto Brutus, showed plainly that the goddes were offended with the murther of Cæsar. The vision was thus. Brutus being ready to pass over his army from the citie of Abydos to the other coast lying directly against it, slept every night (as his manner was) in his tent; and being yet awake, thinking of his affaires, he thought he heard a noyse at his tent-dore, and looking towards the light of the tampe that waxed very dimme, he saw a horrible vision of a man, of a wonderfull greatnes and dreadful looke, which at the first made him marvelously afraid. But when he sawe that it did him no hurt, but stoode by his bedde-side, and said nothing, at length he asked him what he was. The image aunswered him, I am thy ill angel, Brutus, and thou shalt see me by the citie of Philippes. Then Brutus replyed agayne, and said, Well, I shall see thee then. Therewithall the spirit presently vanished from him." It is manifest from the words above printed in Italics, that Shakspeare had this passage in his thoughts as well as the other. Malone. That lights grew dim, or burned blue, at the approach of spectres, was a belief which our author might have found examples of in almost every book of his age that treats of supernatural appearances. See King Richard III, Vol. XI, p. 180, n. 7. Steevens. Luc. The strings, my lord, are false. Bru. He thinks, he still is at his instrument.Lucius, awake. Luc. My lord! Bru. Didst thou dream, Lucius, that thou so cry'dst out? Luc. My lord, I do not know that I did cry. Bru. Yes, that thou didst: Didst thou see any thing? Luc. Nothing, my lord. Bru. Sleep again, Lucius.-Sirrah, Claudius! Fellow thou! awake. Var. My lord. Clau. My lord. Bru. Why did you so cry out, sirs, in your sleep? Bru. Ay; Saw you any thing? Var. No, my lord, I saw nothing. Clau. Nor I, my lord. Bru. Go, and commend me to my brother Cassius; Bid him set on his powers betimes before, And we will follow. Var. Clau. It shall be done, my lord. [Exeunt. ACT V..... SCENE I. The Plains of Philippi. Enter OCTAVIUS, ANTONY, and their Army. Oct. Now, Antony, our hopes are answered: 9 warn us] To warn is to summon. So, in King John: "Who is it that hath warn'd us to the walls?" Shakspeare uses the word yet more intelligibly in King Richard III: "And sent to warn them to his royal presence." Throughout the books of the Stationers' Company, the word is always used in this sense; "Receyved of Raufe Newbery for his fyne, that he came not to the hall when he was warned, according to the orders of this house.". Answering before we do demand of them. Ant. Tut, I am in their bosoms, and I know With fearful bravery, thinking, by this face, Mess. Enter a Messenger. Prepare you, generals: The enemy comes on in gallant show; Their bloody sign of battle is hung out, And something to be done immediately. Ant. Octavius, lead your battle softly on, Oct. Upon the right hand I, keep thou2 the left. [March. Drum. Enter BRUTUS, CASSIUS, and their Army; LuciLIUS, TITINIUS, MESSALA, and Others. Bru. They stand, and would have parley. Bru. Words before blows: Is it so, countrymen? Again, in a Letter from Lord Cecil to the Earl of Shrewsbury. See Lodge's Illustrations, &c. Vol. III, 206: I pray yor LP, therefore, let him be privatly warned, without any other notice (to his disgrace) to come up" &c. Steevens. 1 With fearful bravery,] That is, with a gallant show of courage, carrying with it terror and dismay. Fearful is used here, as in many other places, in an active sense-producing fear-intimidating. So, in Churchyard's Siege of Leeth, 1575: "They were a feare unto the enmyes eye." Malone. I believe, however, that in the present instance, fearful bravery requires an interpretation that may be found in Sidney's Arcadia, Lib. II: "-her horse, faire and lustie; which she rid so as might show a fearefull boldness, daring to doe that which she knew that she knew not how to doe." Steevens. 2 keep thou-] The tenour of the conversation evidently requires us to read-you. Ritson. Ant. In your bad strokes, Brutus, you give good words: Witness the hole you made in Cæsar's heart, Crying, Long live! hail, Casar! Cas. Antony, The posture of your blows are yet unknown ;3 Ant. Not stingless too. Bru. O, yes, and soundless too; For you have stol'n their buzzing, Antony, And, very wisely, threat before you sting. Sicily Ant. Villains, you did not so, when your vile daggers Hack'd one another in the sides of Cæsar: You show'd your teeth like apes, and fawn'd like hounds, Struck Cæsar on the neck. O flatterers !5 Cas. Flatterers !-Now, Brutus, thank yourself:6 This tongue had not offended so to-day, If Cassius might have rul'd. Oct. Come, come, the cause: If arguing make us sweat, The proof of it will turn to redder drops. I draw a sword against conspirators; When think you that the sword goes up again? 3 The posture of your blows are yet unknown;] It should be-is yet unknown. But the error was certainly Shakspeare's. Malone. Rather, the mistake of his transcriber or printer; which therefore ought, in my opinion, to be corrected. Had Shakspeare been generally inaccurate on similar occasions, he might more justly have been suspected of inaccuracy in the present instance. Steevens. Casca,] Casca struck Cæsar on the neck, coming like a degenerate cur behind him. Johnson 5 O flatterers!] Old copy, unmetrically,-O you flatterers! Steevens. Flatterers!-Now, Brutus, thank yourself:] It is natural to suppose, from the defective metre of this line, that our author wrote: Flatterers! Now, Brutus, you may thank yourself. Steevens. ✓7 three and twenty wounds-] [Old copy-three and thirty;] but I have ventured to reduce this number to three and twenty, from the joint authorities of Appian, Plutarch, and Suetonius: and I am persuaded, the error was not from the poet but his transcribers. Theobald. |