Original Text |
Translated Text |
| Source: Folger Shakespeare Library |
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Enter Brutus in his orchard. BRUTUS What, Lucius, ho!—
I cannot by the progress of the stars
Give guess how near to day.—Lucius, I say!—
I would it were my fault to sleep so soundly.—
When, Lucius, when? Awake, I say! What, Lucius! 5 Enter Lucius. LUCIUS Called you, my lord? BRUTUS
Get me a taper in my study, Lucius.
When it is lighted, come and call me here. LUCIUS I will, my lord. He exits. BRUTUS
It must be by his death. And for my part 10
I know no personal cause to spurn at him,
But for the general. He would be crowned:
How that might change his nature, there’s the
question.
It is the bright day that brings forth the adder, 15
And that craves wary walking. Crown him that,
And then I grant we put a sting in him
That at his will he may do danger with.
Th’ abuse of greatness is when it disjoins
Remorse from power. And, to speak truth of Caesar, 20
I have not known when his affections swayed
More than his reason. But ’tis a common proof
That lowliness is young ambition’s ladder,
Whereto the climber-upward turns his face;
But, when he once attains the upmost round, 25
He then unto the ladder turns his back,
Looks in the clouds, scorning the base degrees
By which he did ascend. So Caesar may.
Then, lest he may, prevent. And since the quarrel
Will bear no color for the thing he is, 30
Fashion it thus: that what he is, augmented,
Would run to these and these extremities.
And therefore think him as a serpent’s egg,
Which, hatched, would, as his kind, grow
mischievous, 35
And kill him in the shell. | Brutus sends his servant Lucius to light a candle in his room, and then paces around his garden contemplating the conspiracy against Caesar. He has reached the conclusion that Julius Caesar must die. Brutus can't justify Caesar's death by any personal acts of Caesar's; Caesar has just got to go for the public good. Brutus reasons that, although Caesar isn't bad now, getting a crown would change his nature. Brutus admits he's seen no evidence that ambition would change Caesar, but he reckons it isn't worth taking the chance. Thus Brutus decides action must be taken now, as Caesar is like a serpent's egg—dangerous once hatched. (Time to make an omelet.) |
Enter Lucius. LUCIUS
The taper burneth in your closet, sir.
Searching the window for a flint, I found
This paper, thus sealed up, and I am sure
It did not lie there when I went to bed. 40 Gives him the letter. | Lucius returns from his candle lighting with a letter he found in Brutus's room (Cassius's invention). |
BRUTUS
Get you to bed again. It is not day.
Is not tomorrow, boy, the ides of March? LUCIUS I know not, sir. BRUTUS
Look in the calendar, and bring me word. LUCIUS I will, sir. He exits. 45 BRUTUS
The exhalations, whizzing in the air,
Give so much light that I may read by them. Opens the letter and reads. Brutus, thou sleep’st. Awake, and see thyself!
Shall Rome, etc. Speak, strike, redress! “Brutus, thou sleep’st. Awake.” 50
Such instigations have been often dropped
Where I have took them up.
“Shall Rome, etc.” Thus must I piece it out:
Shall Rome stand under one man’s awe? What,
Rome? 55
My ancestors did from the streets of Rome
The Tarquin drive when he was called a king.
“Speak, strike, redress!” Am I entreated
To speak and strike? O Rome, I make thee promise,
If the redress will follow, thou receivest 60
Thy full petition at the hand of Brutus. | The letter says Brutus should recognize his own noble nature and do something before Rome falls to the tyranny of a monarch. Brutus is taken in and promises that, for Rome's sake, he won't fail. |
Enter Lucius. LUCIUS Sir, March is wasted fifteen days. Knock within. BRUTUS
’Tis good. Go to the gate; somebody knocks. Lucius exits. Since Cassius first did whet me against Caesar,
I have not slept. 65
Between the acting of a dreadful thing
And the first motion, all the interim is
Like a phantasma or a hideous dream.
The genius and the mortal instruments
Are then in council, and the state of man, 70
Like to a little kingdom, suffers then
The nature of an insurrection. | Lucius confirms that tomorrow is indeed the Ides of March (March 15th, the fateful day Caesar was warned about). After this healthy bit of foreshadowing for the audience, Brutus admits he's been kept up every night since Cassius planted the fear of tyranny in his mind. |
Enter Lucius. LUCIUS
Sir, ’tis your brother Cassius at the door,
Who doth desire to see you. BRUTUS Is he alone? 75 LUCIUS
No, sir. There are more with him. BRUTUS Do you know
them? LUCIUS
No, sir. Their hats are plucked about their ears,
And half their faces buried in their cloaks, 80
That by no means I may discover them
By any mark of favor. BRUTUS Let ’em enter. Lucius exits.
They are the faction. O conspiracy,
Sham’st thou to show thy dang’rous brow by night, 85
When evils are most free? O, then, by day
Where wilt thou find a cavern dark enough
To mask thy monstrous visage? Seek none,
conspiracy.
Hide it in smiles and affability; 90
For if thou path, thy native semblance on,
Not Erebus itself were dim enough
To hide thee from prevention. Enter the conspirators, Cassius, Casca, Decius, Cinna,
Metellus, and Trebonius. | The group of conspirators then shows up at Brutus' door to try to win Brutus over to their cause. They're all disguised and looking shady. |
CASSIUS
I think we are too bold upon your rest.
Good morrow, Brutus. Do we trouble you? 95 BRUTUS
I have been up this hour, awake all night.
Know I these men that come along with you? CASSIUS
Yes, every man of them; and no man here
But honors you, and every one doth wish
You had but that opinion of yourself 100
Which every noble Roman bears of you.
This is Trebonius. BRUTUS He is welcome hither. CASSIUS
This, Decius Brutus. BRUTUS He is welcome too. 105 CASSIUS
This, Casca; this, Cinna; and this, Metellus Cimber. BRUTUS They are all welcome.
What watchful cares do interpose themselves
Betwixt your eyes and night? CASSIUS Shall I entreat a word? 110 Brutus and Cassius whisper. DECIUS
Here lies the east; doth not the day break here? CASCA No. CINNA
O pardon, sir, it doth; and yon gray lines
That fret the clouds are messengers of day. CASCA
You shall confess that you are both deceived. 115
Here, as I point my sword, the sun arises,
Which is a great way growing on the south,
Weighing the youthful season of the year.
Some two months hence, up higher toward the
north 120
He first presents his fire, and the high east
Stands, as the Capitol, directly here. | Cassius introduces all the conspirators, and Brutus says they are all welcome in his home. As Cassius takes Brutus aside to chat, the others discuss exactly where the sun will rise on the horizon. |
BRUTUS, coming forward with Cassius
Give me your hands all over, one by one. CASSIUS
And let us swear our resolution. BRUTUS
No, not an oath. If not the face of men, 125
The sufferance of our souls, the time’s abuse—
If these be motives weak, break off betimes,
And every man hence to his idle bed.
So let high-sighted tyranny range on
Till each man drop by lottery. But if these— 130
As I am sure they do—bear fire enough
To kindle cowards and to steel with valor
The melting spirits of women, then, countrymen,
What need we any spur but our own cause
To prick us to redress? What other bond 135
Than secret Romans that have spoke the word
And will not palter? And what other oath
Than honesty to honesty engaged
That this shall be or we will fall for it?
Swear priests and cowards and men cautelous, 140
Old feeble carrions, and such suffering souls
That welcome wrongs; unto bad causes swear
Such creatures as men doubt; but do not stain
The even virtue of our enterprise,
Nor th’ insuppressive mettle of our spirits, 145
To think that or our cause or our performance
Did need an oath, when every drop of blood
That every Roman bears, and nobly bears,
Is guilty of a several bastardy
If he do break the smallest particle 150
Of any promise that hath passed from him. | Brutus steps forward and asks to hold everyone's hand for the Roman version of Kumbaya over their murdering plan. Cassius thinks he wants everyone to swear an oath to their cause, but Brutus opposes that idea violently. They are Romans, and Romans don't do oaths—they're just true to their word, even if that word is murder. |
CASSIUS
But what of Cicero? Shall we sound him?
I think he will stand very strong with us. CASCA
Let us not leave him out. CINNA No, by no means. 155 METELLUS
O, let us have him, for his silver hairs
Will purchase us a good opinion
And buy men’s voices to commend our deeds.
It shall be said his judgment ruled our hands.
Our youths and wildness shall no whit appear, 160
But all be buried in his gravity. BRUTUS
O, name him not! Let us not break with him,
For he will never follow anything
That other men begin. CASSIUS Then leave him out. 165 CASCA Indeed, he is not fit. | Then they all have a little debate about whether to include Cicero, but it's decided he'd never be a follower and shouldn't be invited to join Team Secret Conspiracy. It's important here to note that the minor conspirators are easily swayed one direction or another regarding whether Cicero should be asked to join, at first thinking he'd be great and then insisting he's totally unfit. They're easily persuaded. |
DECIUS
Shall no man else be touched, but only Caesar? CASSIUS
Decius, well urged. I think it is not meet
Mark Antony, so well beloved of Caesar,
Should outlive Caesar. We shall find of him 170
A shrewd contriver; and, you know, his means,
If he improve them, may well stretch so far
As to annoy us all; which to prevent,
Let Antony and Caesar fall together. | Cassius then suggests they also kill Antony (Caesar's young friend) while they're at it. |
BRUTUS
Our course will seem too bloody, Caius Cassius, 175
To cut the head off and then hack the limbs,
Like wrath in death and envy afterwards;
For Antony is but a limb of Caesar.
Let’s be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius.
We all stand up against the spirit of Caesar, 180
And in the spirit of men there is no blood.
O, that we then could come by Caesar’s spirit
And not dismember Caesar! But, alas,
Caesar must bleed for it. And, gentle friends,
Let’s kill him boldly, but not wrathfully. 185
Let’s carve him as a dish fit for the gods,
Not hew him as a carcass fit for hounds.
And let our hearts, as subtle masters do,
Stir up their servants to an act of rage
And after seem to chide ’em. This shall make 190
Our purpose necessary and not envious;
Which so appearing to the common eyes,
We shall be called purgers, not murderers.
And for Mark Antony, think not of him,
For he can do no more than Caesar’s arm 195
When Caesar’s head is off. CASSIUS Yet I fear him,
For in the engrafted love he bears to Caesar— BRUTUS
Alas, good Cassius, do not think of him.
If he love Caesar, all that he can do 200
Is to himself: take thought and die for Caesar.
And that were much he should, for he is given
To sports, to wildness, and much company. | Brutus disagrees, thinking that would be overkill. (Get it? Ugh. Sorry.) He talks about how they should murder Caesar nobly, carving him up like a dish for the gods, not like a "carcass fit for hounds." The conspirators should think of the murder as an act of sacrifice for the state and not as a bloodbath. Brutus also contends that because Antony is like Caesar's arm, once they kill Caesar, Antony will be powerless. An arm without a head can do nothing, and Brutus is sure they have nothing to fear from Caesar's friend. |
TREBONIUS
There is no fear in him. Let him not die,
For he will live and laugh at this hereafter. 205 | Trebonius, another conspiratorial lackey, suggests that Antony will be sad after the murder but will eventually laugh about the whole thing...which kind of makes us wonder about Trebonius's emotional IQ. |
Clock strikes. BRUTUS
Peace, count the clock. CASSIUS The clock hath stricken
three. TREBONIUS
’Tis time to part. CASSIUS But it is doubtful yet 210
Whether Caesar will come forth today or no,
For he is superstitious grown of late,
Quite from the main opinion he held once
Of fantasy, of dreams, and ceremonies.
It may be these apparent prodigies, 215
The unaccustomed terror of this night,
And the persuasion of his augurers
May hold him from the Capitol today. | The clock strikes 3 (actually, ancient Rome had no clocks, but Shakespeare was more concerned with drama than historical accuracy), and they agree to part. Before they do, Cassius points out that Caesar has been cautious lately because of all the bad omens floating about. Cassius further worries that Caesar's prophets might convince him to take a sick day from the Capitol. |
DECIUS
Never fear that. If he be so resolved,
I can o’ersway him, for he loves to hear 220
That unicorns may be betrayed with trees,
And bears with glasses, elephants with holes,
Lions with toils, and men with flatterers.
But when I tell him he hates flatterers,
He says he does, being then most flatterèd. 225
Let me work,
For I can give his humor the true bent,
And I will bring him to the Capitol. | Decius tells everyone not to worry; he'll show up at Caesar's place in the morning to make sure Caesar goes the Capitol. He can sway Caesar easily with fairy-tale interpretations of whatever worries Caesar. |
CASSIUS
Nay, we will all of us be there to fetch him. BRUTUS
By the eighth hour, is that the uttermost? 230 CINNA
Be that the uttermost, and fail not then. METELLUS
Caius Ligarius doth bear Caesar hard,
Who rated him for speaking well of Pompey.
I wonder none of you have thought of him. BRUTUS
Now, good Metellus, go along by him. 235
He loves me well, and I have given him reasons.
Send him but hither, and I’ll fashion him. CASSIUS
The morning comes upon ’s. We’ll leave you,
Brutus.
And, friends, disperse yourselves, but all remember 240
What you have said, and show yourselves true
Romans. | In fact, everyone will meet at Caesar's to make sure he shows up at the Capitol for the murder. It's a team effort. Cassius prompts them to be "good Romans" and keep their word. |
BRUTUS
Good gentlemen, look fresh and merrily.
Let not our looks put on our purposes,
But bear it, as our Roman actors do, 245
With untired spirits and formal constancy.
And so good morrow to you every one. All but Brutus exit. Boy! Lucius!—Fast asleep? It is no matter.
Enjoy the honey-heavy dew of slumber.
Thou hast no figures nor no fantasies 250
Which busy care draws in the brains of men.
Therefore thou sleep’st so sound. | Brutus tells them to make sure they don't look like suspicious murderers. Brilliant! After everyone has left, Brutus calls for Lucius, but Lucius has fallen asleep. |
Enter Portia. PORTIA Brutus, my lord. BRUTUS
Portia! What mean you? Wherefore rise you now?
It is not for your health thus to commit 255
Your weak condition to the raw cold morning. PORTIA
Nor for yours neither. You’ve ungently, Brutus,
Stole from my bed. And yesternight at supper
You suddenly arose and walked about,
Musing and sighing, with your arms across, 260
And when I asked you what the matter was,
You stared upon me with ungentle looks.
I urged you further; then you scratched your head
And too impatiently stamped with your foot.
Yet I insisted; yet you answered not, 265
But with an angry wafture of your hand
Gave sign for me to leave you. So I did,
Fearing to strengthen that impatience
Which seemed too much enkindled, and withal
Hoping it was but an effect of humor, 270
Which sometime hath his hour with every man.
It will not let you eat nor talk nor sleep,
And could it work so much upon your shape
As it hath much prevailed on your condition,
I should not know you Brutus. Dear my lord, 275
Make me acquainted with your cause of grief. | Portia, Brutus's wife, enters and the two have a little husband-wife chat. The other night Brutus gave her a mean look at dinner and dismissed her when she wanted to talk about what was bothering him. (Apparently the plan to murder Caesar didn't make it into pillow talk.) Portia pleads with him to tell her what's making him so unhappy. |
BRUTUS
I am not well in health, and that is all. PORTIA
Brutus is wise and, were he not in health,
He would embrace the means to come by it. BRUTUS
Why so I do. Good Portia, go to bed. 280 | Brutus claims he's just a bit sick, but Portia says if that's all it was, he'd come to bed. Brutus is smart enough to know that pacing about at all hours of the night isn't the best way to get healthy. |
PORTIA
Is Brutus sick? And is it physical
To walk unbracèd and suck up the humors
Of the dank morning? What, is Brutus sick,
And will he steal out of his wholesome bed
To dare the vile contagion of the night 285
And tempt the rheumy and unpurgèd air
To add unto his sickness? No, my Brutus,
You have some sick offense within your mind,
Which by the right and virtue of my place
I ought to know of. She kneels. And upon my 290
knees
I charm you, by my once commended beauty,
By all your vows of love, and that great vow
Which did incorporate and make us one,
That you unfold to me, your self, your half, 295
Why you are heavy, and what men tonight
Have had resort to you; for here have been
Some six or seven who did hide their faces
Even from darkness. | Portia continues to press her husband, saying she knows it must be a sickness of the mind that plagues him. Brilliant! She also says she has a right to know who the masked men who were just at their house in the middle of the night were. |
BRUTUS Kneel not, gentle Portia. 300 He lifts her up. PORTIA
I should not need, if you were gentle Brutus.
Within the bond of marriage, tell me, Brutus,
Is it excepted I should know no secrets
That appertain to you? Am I your self
But, as it were, in sort or limitation, 305
To keep with you at meals, comfort your bed,
And talk to you sometimes? Dwell I but in the
suburbs
Of your good pleasure? If it be no more,
Portia is Brutus’ harlot, not his wife. 310 BRUTUS
You are my true and honorable wife,
As dear to me as are the ruddy drops
That visit my sad heart. PORTIA
If this were true, then should I know this secret.
I grant I am a woman, but withal 315
A woman that Lord Brutus took to wife.
I grant I am a woman, but withal
A woman well-reputed, Cato’s daughter.
Think you I am no stronger than my sex,
Being so fathered and so husbanded? 320
Tell me your counsels; I will not disclose ’em.
I have made strong proof of my constancy,
Giving myself a voluntary wound
Here, in the thigh. Can I bear that with patience,
And not my husband’s secrets? 325 | Portia claims she does more than simply serve Brutus, and she asks that he confide in her as a beloved wife rather than ignore her like a kept woman. Though she knows she's a woman, she's his wife and the daughter of noble Cato, and she can keep a secret, no matter what it is. |
BRUTUS O you gods,
Render me worthy of this noble wife! Knock.
Hark, hark, one knocks. Portia, go in awhile,
And by and by thy bosom shall partake
The secrets of my heart. 330
All my engagements I will construe to thee,
All the charactery of my sad brows.
Leave me with haste. Portia exits. Lucius, who ’s that knocks? Enter Lucius and Ligarius. | Brutus then asks the gods to make him worthy of such a noble wife. Just then, there's a knock at the door. Brutus sends Portia back to bed, promising to tell her everything later. |
LUCIUS
Here is a sick man that would speak with you. 335 BRUTUS
Caius Ligarius, that Metellus spoke of.—
Boy, stand aside. Lucius exits.
Caius Ligarius, how? LIGARIUS
Vouchsafe good morrow from a feeble tongue. BRUTUS
O, what a time have you chose out, brave Caius, 340
To wear a kerchief! Would you were not sick! LIGARIUS
I am not sick, if Brutus have in hand
Any exploit worthy the name of honor. BRUTUS
Such an exploit have I in hand, Ligarius,
Had you a healthful ear to hear of it. 345 LIGARIUS
By all the gods that Romans bow before,
I here discard my sickness. He takes off his kerchief. Soul of Rome,
Brave son derived from honorable loins,
Thou like an exorcist hast conjured up 350
My mortifièd spirit. Now bid me run,
And I will strive with things impossible,
Yea, get the better of them. What’s to do? BRUTUS
A piece of work that will make sick men whole. LIGARIUS
But are not some whole that we must make sick? 355 BRUTUS
That must we also. What it is, my Caius,
I shall unfold to thee as we are going
To whom it must be done. LIGARIUS Set on your foot,
And with a heart new-fired I follow you 360
To do I know not what; but it sufficeth
That Brutus leads me on. Thunder. BRUTUS Follow me then. They exit. | Caius Ligarius, a guy who one of the conspirators wanted to bring onto the team, has shown up. Although he's been sick, he says he's filled with spirit after hearing of the killing plan. The two walk and talk about the murder afoot. |