Poet. For shame, you generals! What do you mean?
Love and be friends, as two such men should be;
For I have seen more years, I'm sure, than ye.

Cas. Ha, ha! How vilely doth this cynic rhyme!
Bru. Get you hence, sirrah! saucy fellow, hence!
Cas. Bear with him, Brutus: 'tis his fashion.
Bru. I'll know his humor when he knows his time.
What should the wars do with these jigging fools?
Companion, hence!

Cas. Away, away! begone!

Enter LUCILIUS and TITINIUS.

Bru. Lucilius and Titinius, bid the commanders

Prepare to lodge their companies to-night.

Cas. And come yourselves, and bring Messala with you, Immediately to us.

Bru. Lucius, a bowl of wine.

[Exit POET.

[Exeunt LUCILIUS and TITINIUS.

Cas. I did not think you could have been so angry.

Bru. O Cassius! I am sick of many griefs.

Cas. Of your philosophy you make no use,

If you give place to accidental evils.

Bru. No man bears sorrow better.

Cas. Ha! Portia ?

Bru. She is dead.

Portia is dead.

Cas. How 'scaped I killing when I crossed you so? — O insupportable and touching loss!

Upon what sickness?

Bru. Impatient of my absence,

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.

Cas. And died so?

Bru. Even so.

Cas. O ye immortal gods!

Enter LUCIUS with wine and tapers.

Bru. Speak no more of her. Give me a bowl of wine:

In this I bury all unkindness, Cassius.

Cas. My heart is thirsty for that noble pledge.

Fill, Lucius, till the wine o'erswell the cup:

I can not drink too much of Brutus' love.

[Drinks.

[Drinks.

Messala, I have here received letters
That young Octavius and Mark Antony
Come down upon us with a mighty power,
Bending their expedition toward Philippi.
Mes. Myself have letters of the selfsame tenor.
Bru. With what addition?

Mes. That by proscription, and bills of outlawry,
Octavius, Antony, and Lepidus

Have put to death a hundred senators.

Bru. Therein our letters do not well agree:
Mine speak of seventy senators that died

By their proscriptions, Cicero being one.
Cas. Cicero one?

Mes. Cicero is dead,

And by that order of proscription.

Had you your letters from your wife, my lord?

Bru. No, Messala.

Mes. Nor nothing in your letters writ of her?
Bru. Nothing, Messala.

Mes. That, methinks, is strange.

Bru. Why ask you? Hear you aught of her in yours? Mes. No, my lord.

Bru. Now, as you are a Roman, tell me true.

Mes. Then like a Roman bear the truth I tell :

For certain she is dead, and by strange manner.

Bru. Why, farewell, Portia! We must die, Messala. With meditating that she must die once,

I have the patience to endure it now.

Mes. Even so great men great losses should endure.
Cas. I have as much of this in art as you;

But yet my nature could not bear it so.

Bru. Well, to our work alive. What do

Of marching to Philippi presently?
Cas. I do not think it good.

Bru. Your reason?

Cas. This it is:

'Tis better that the enemy seek us:

you

think

So shall he waste his means, weary his soldiers,

Doing himself offense; whilst we, lying still,

Are full of rest, defense, and nimbleness.

Bru. 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,

Come on refreshed, new-hearted, and encouraged;
From which advantage shall we cut him off

If at Philippi we do face him there,

These people at our back.

Cas. Hear me, good brother.
Bru. Under your pardon.

- You must note beside,

That we have tried the utmost of our friends:

Our legions are brimfull; our cause is ripe;
The enemy increaseth every day;

We at the hight are ready to decline.
There is a tide in the affairs of men,

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,
Or lose our ventures.

Cas. Then, with your will, go on:

We'll along ourselves, and meet them at Philippi.
Bru. The deep of night is crept upon our talk,
And nature must obey necessity;

Which we will niggard with a little rest.

There is no more to say?

Cas. No more. Good-night!

Early to-morrow will we rise, and hence.

Bru. Lucius, my gown.

[Exit LUCIUS.

Farewell, good Messala!

Good-night Titinius! - Noble, noble Cassius,

Good-night, and good repose!

Cas. O my dear brother!

This was an ill beginning of the night.

Never come such division 'tween our souls!

Let it not, Brutus.

Bru. Every thing is well.

Cas. Good-night, my lord!

Bru. Good-night, good brother!

Tit. Mes. Good-night, lord Brutus !

Bru. Farewell, every one! [Exeunt CASSIUS, TITINIUS, and MESSALA.

Re-enter LUCIUS with the Gown.

Give me the gown. Where is thy instrument?

Luc. Here in the tent.

Bru. What! thou speak'st drowsily?

Poor knave, I blame thee not: thou art o'erwatched.
Call Claudius, and some other of my men :

I'll have them sleep on cushions in my tent.

Luc. Varro and Claudius !

Var. Calls my lord?

Enter VARRO and CLAUDIUS.

Bru. 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.

Var. So please you, we will stand, and watch your pleasure.
Bru. 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.

[SERVANTS lie down.

Luc. I was sure your lordship did not give it me.
Bru. Bear with me, good boy: I am much forgetful.
Canst thou hold up thy heavy eyes a while,

And touch thy instrument a strain or two?
Luc. Ay, my lord, an't please you.

Bru. It does, my boy:

I trouble thee too much; but thou art willing.
Luc. It is my duty, sir.

Bru. I should not urge thy duty past thy might:
I know young bloods look for a time of rest.
Luc. I have slept, my lord, already.

Bru. It is well done; and thou shalt sleep again.
I will not hold thee long: if I do live,
I will be good to thee.

This is a sleepy tune.. O murderous slumber!
Lay'st thou thy leaden mace upon my boy,

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
Where I left reading? Here it is, I think.

How ill this taper burns!

Enter the GHOST of CESAR.

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?

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.

Bru. Why com'st thou?

Ghost. To tell thee thou shalt see me at Philippi.

Bru. Well; then I shall see thee again?

Ghost. Ay, at Philippi.

Bru. Why, I will see thee at Philippi then.

Now I have taken heart, thou vanishest:

Ill spirit, I would hold more talk with thee.

Boy! Lucius!-Varro! - Claudius! Sirs, awake!
Claudius!

Luc. The strings, my lord, are false.

Bru. He thinks he still is at his instrument.

Lucius, awake!

Luc. My lord!

[Music and a song.

[He sits down.

[GHOST vanishes.

Bru. Didst thou dream, Lucius, that thou so criedst 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!

E

Clau. My lord!

Bru. Why did you so cry out, sirs, in your sleep?

Var. Clau. Did we, my

lord?

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.

Enter OCTAVIUS, ANTONY, and their Army.

Oct. 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.

Ant. 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;
But 'tis not so.

Enter a MESSENGER.

Mess. Prepare you, generals:
The enemy comes on in gallant show;
Their bloody sign of battle is hung out,
And something's to be done immediately.
Ant. Octavius, lead your battle softly on

Upon the left hand of the even field.

Oct. Upon the right hand I; keep thou the left.

Ant. Why do you cross me in this exigent?

Oct. I do not cross you; but I will do so.

[Exeunt.

[March.

Drum. Enter BRUTUS, CASSIUS, and their Army; LUCILIUS, TITINIUS, MESSALA,

and others.

Bru. They stand, and would have parley.
Cas. Stand fast, Titinius: we must out and talk.
Oct. Mark Antony, shall we give sign of battle?
Ant. No, Cæsar: we will answer on their charge.
Make forth the generals would have some words.
Oct. Stir not until the signal.

Bru. Words before blows: is it so, countrymen?
Oct. Not that we love words better, as you do.
Bru. Good words are better than bad strokes, Octavius.