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And grief that young Octavius with Mark Antony
Have made themselves so strong – for with her death
That tidings came – with this she fell distract,
And, her attendants absent, swallowed fire.
CASSIUS And died so?
BRUTUS Even so.
CASSIUS O ye immortal gods!
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Enter LUCIUS with wine and tapers.
BRUTUS
Speak no more of her: give me a bowl of wine.
In this I bury all unkindness, Cassius [Drinks.]
CASSIUS My heart is thirsty for that noble pledge.
Fill, Lucius, till the wine o’er-swell the cup.
I cannot drink too much of Brutus’ love. Exit Lucius.
160
Enter TITINIUS and MESSALA.
BRUTUS Come in, Titinius. Welcome, good Messala.
Now sit we close about this taper here
And call in question our necessities.
CASSIUS Portia, art thou gone?
BRUTUS No more, I pray you.
Messala, I have here received letters
That young Octavius and Mark Antony
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Come down upon us with a mighty power,
Bending their expedition toward Philippi.
MESSALA Myself have letters of the selfsame tenor.
BRUTUS With what addition?
MESSALA That by proscription and bills of outlawry
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Octavius, Antony and Lepidus
Have put to death an hundred senators.
BRUTUS Therein our letters do not well agree.
Mine speak of seventy senators that died
By their proscriptions, Cicero being one.
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CASSIUS Cicero one?
MESSALA Cicero is dead,
And by that order of proscription.
Had you your letters from your wife, my lord?
BRUTUS No, Messala.
MESSALA Nor nothing in your letters writ of her?
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BRUTUS Nothing, Messala.
MESSALA That methinks is strange.
BRUTUS Why ask you? Hear you aught of her in yours?
MESSALA No, my lord.
BRUTUS Now, as you are a Roman, tell me true.
MESSALA Then like a Roman bear the truth I tell,
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For certain she is dead, and by strange manner.
BRUTUS Why, farewell, Portia: we must die, Messala:
With meditating that she must die once
I have the patience to endure it now.
MESSALA
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Even so great men great losses should endure.
CASSIUS I have as much of this in art as you,
But yet my nature could not bear it so.
BRUTUS Well, to our work alive. What do you think
Of marching to Philippi presently?
CASSIUS I do not think it good.
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BRUTUS Your reason?
CASSIUS This it is:
’Tis better that the enemy seek us,
So shall he waste his means, weary his soldiers,
Doing himself offence, whilst we, lying still,
Are full of rest, defence and nimbleness.
BRUTUS
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Good reasons must of force give place to better:
The people ’twixt Philippi and this ground
Do stand but in a forced affection,
For they have grudged us contribution.
The enemy, marching along by them,
By them shall make a fuller number up,
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Come on refreshed, new-added and encouraged;
From which advantage shall we cut him off
If at Philippi we do face him there,
These people at our back.
CASSIUS Hear me, good brother.
BRUTUS Under your pardon. You must note beside
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That we have tried the utmost of our friends,
Our legions are brimful, our cause is ripe.
The enemy increaseth every day;
We, at the height, are ready to decline.
There is a tide in the affairs of men
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Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune:
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves,
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Or lose our ventures.
CASSIUS Then with your will go on.
We’ll along ourselves, and meet them at Philippi.
BRUTUS The deep of night is crept upon our talk,
And nature must obey necessity,
Which we will niggard with a little rest.
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There is no more to say.
CASSIUS No more. Good night.
Early tomorrow will we rise, and hence.
Enter LUCIUS.
BRUTUS Lucius. My gown. Exit Lucius.
Farewell, good Messala.
Good night, Titinius. Noble, noble Cassius,
Good night, and good repose.
230
CASSIUS O my dear brother,
This was an ill beginning of the night.
Never come such division ’tween our souls.
Let it not, Brutus.
Enter LUCIUS with the gown.
BRUTUS Everything is well.
CASSIUS Good night, my lord.
BRUTUS Good night, good brother.
TITINIUS, MESSALA Good night, Lord Brutus.
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BRUTUS Farewell, every one.
Exeunt Cassius, Titinius and Messala.
Give me the gown. Where is thy instrument?
LUCIUS Here in the tent.
BRUTUS What, thou speak’st drowsily?
Poor knave, I blame thee not; thou art o’erwatched.
Call Claudio and some other of my men.
I’ll have them sleep on cushions in my tent.
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LUCIUS Varrus and Claudio!
Enter VARRUS and CLAUDIO.
VARRUS Calls my lord?
BRUTUS I pray you, sirs, lie in my tent and sleep.
It may be I shall raise you by and by
On business to my brother Cassius.
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VARRUS
So please you, we will stand and watch your pleasure.
BRUTUS I will not have it so: lie down, good sirs.
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.
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LUCIUS I was sure your lordship did not give it me.
BRUTUS Bear with me, good boy, I am much forgetful.
Canst thou hold up thy heavy eyes awhile
And touch thy instrument a strain or two?
LUCIUS Ay, my lord, an’t please you.
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BRUTUS It does, my boy.
I trouble thee too much, but thou art willing.
LUCIUS It is my duty, sir.
BRUTUS I should not urge thy duty past thy might.
I know young bloods look for a time of rest.
LUCIUS I have slept, my lord, already.
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BRUTUS It was well done, and thou shalt sleep again.
I will not hold thee long. If I do live,
I will be good to thee. [Music, and a song.]
This is a sleepy tune: O murderous slumber!
Layest thou thy leaden mace upon my boy
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That plays thee music? Gentle knave, good night:
I will not do thee so much wrong to wake thee.
If thou dost nod, thou break’st thy instrument;
I’ll take it from thee; and, good boy, good night.
Let me see, let me see: is not the
leaf turned down
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Where I left reading? Here it is, I think.
Enter the Ghost of Caesar.
How ill this taper burns. Ha! Who comes here?
I think it is the weakness of mine eyes
That shapes this monstrous apparition.
It comes upon me: art thou any thing?
275
Art thou some god, some angel, or some devil,
That mak’st my blood cold, and my hair to stare?
Speak to me what thou art.
GHOST Thy evil spirit, Brutus.
BRUTUS Why com’st thou?
GHOST To tell thee thou shalt see me at Philippi.
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BRUTUS Well: then I shall see thee again?
GHOST Ay, at Philippi.
BRUTUS
Why, I will see thee at Philippi then: Exit Ghost.
Now I have taken heart thou vanishest.
Ill spirit, I would hold more talk with thee.
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Boy, Lucius, Varrus, Claudio, sirs, awake!
Claudio!
LUCIUS The strings, my lord, are false.
BRUTUS He thinks he still is at his instrument.
Lucius, awake.
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LUCIUS My lord?
BRUTUS
Didst thou dream, Lucius, that thou so cried’st out?
LUCIUS My lord, I do not know that I did cry.
BRUTUS Yes, that thou didst. Didst thou see anything?
LUCIUS Nothing, my lord.
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BRUTUS Sleep again, Lucius. Sirrah Claudio,
Fellow, thou, awake!
VARRUS My lord?
CLAUDIO My lord?
BRUTUS Why did you so cry out, sirs, in your sleep?
BOTH Did we, my lord?
BRUTUS Ay. Saw you anything?
VARRUS No, my lord, I saw nothing.
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CLAUDIO Nor I, my lord.
BRUTUS
Go and commend me to my brother Cassius.
Bid him set on his powers betimes before
And we will follow.
BOTH It shall be done, my lord. Exeunt.
5.1 Enter OCTAVIUS, ANTONY and their army.
OCTAVIUS Now, Antony, our hopes are answered.
You said the enemy would not come down,
But keep the hills and upper regions.
It proves not so: their battles are at hand.
They mean to warn us at Philippi here,
Answering before we do demand of them.
5
ANTONY Tut, I am in their bosoms and I know
Wherefore they do it: they could be content
To visit other places, and come down
With fearful bravery, thinking by this face
To fasten in our thoughts that they have courage.
10
But ’tis not so.
Enter a Messenger.
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.
ANTONY Octavius, lead your battle softly on,
15
Upon the left hand of the even field.
OCTAVIUS Upon the right hand I. Keep thou the left.
ANTONY Why do you cross me in this exigent?
OCTAVIUS I do not cross you: but I will do so. [March.]
Drum. Enter BRUTUS, CASSIUS and their army: LUCILIUS, TITINIUS, MESSALA and others
20
BRUTUS They stand, and would have parley.
CASSIUS Stand fast, Titinius. We must out and talk.
OCTAVIUS Mark Antony, shall we give sign of battle?
ANTONY No, Caesar, we will answer on their charge.
Make forth, the generals would have some words.
OCTAVIUS [to a commander] Stir not until the signal.
25
BRUTUS Words before blows: is it so, countrymen?
OCTAVIUS Not that we love words better, as you do.
BRUTUS
Good words are better than bad strokes, Octavius.
ANTONY
In your bad strokes, Brutus, you give good words.
Witness the hole you made in Caesar’s heart,
30
Crying, ‘Long live! Hail, Caesar!’
CASSIUS Antony,
The posture of your blows are yet unknown;
But, for your words, they rob the Hybla bees
And leave them honeyless.
ANTONY Not stingless too?
The Arden Shakespeare Complete Works Page 150
