1 Pleb. Stand from the hearse, stand from the body. 2 Pleb. Room for Antony-moft noble Antony. Ant. Nay, prefs not fo upon me, stand far off. All. Stand back. room----- Ant. If y f you have tears, prepare to shed them now. You all do know this mantle; I remember, The first time ever Cæfar put it on, 'Twas on a fummer's evening in his tent, See what a rent the envious Cafca made- (22) That day he overcame the Nervii.] This circumstance about Cæfar's mantle, (which I presume to be purely the Poet's invention) abstracted from the chronology, is very pretty. Perhaps it has not fo much propriety as beauty, if we confider one thing. The Nervii were conquered in the fecond year of his Gaulish expedition, feventeen years be fore his affaffination, and 'tis hardly to be thought that Cæfar preferved one robe of state for fo long a period. Another circumstance, pretty like this, we meet with in Hamlet; the ghoft of the old King appearing, Horatio, in deferibing the garb and figure he had affumed, fays; Such was the very armour he had on, When he the ambitious Norway combated. Now Horatio, being a fchool-fellow of young Hamlet, could hardly know in what armour the old King kitled Fortinbras of Norway, which happened on the very day whereon young Hamlet was born. Befides, in ftrictnefs, why fhould the ghost of the old King walk in armour, who was murdered in time of peace, fleeping in his garden? But these circum ftances and ftrokes of fancy drefs up an amuling picture, for which the Poet, perhaps, is neither accountable to propriety nor probability. For Brutus, as you know, was: Cefar's angel. For when the noble Cæfar faw him ftab, (Which all the while ran blood) great Cæfar fell 2 Pleb. O noble Cæfar! 3 Pleb. O woeful day! 2 Pleb. We will be revenged: revenge, about-feek----burn-----fire----kill-----flay! let not a trai tor live. Ant. Stay, my Countrymen------- Pleb. Peace there, hear the noble Antony. 2 Pleb. We'll hear him, we'll follow him, we'll die with him-------- Ant. Good friends, fweet friends, let me not To fuch a fudden flood of mutiny: [ftir you up They, that have done this deed, are honourable. What private griefs they have, alas, I know not, That made them do it: they are wife and honourable; And will, no doubt, with reafons anfwer you. I come not, friends, to steal away your hearts: I am no orator, as Brutus is: But, as you know me all, a plain blunt man, I tell you that which you yourselves do know; Shew you fweet Cæfar's wounds, poor, poor, dumb mouths! And bid them speak for me. But were I Brutus, Pleb. We'll burn the houfe of Brutus. 3 Pleb. Away then, come, feek the confpirators. Ant. Yet hear me, countrymen; yet hear me fpeak. All. Peace, ho, hear Antony, moft noble Antony. Ant. Why, friends, you go to do you know not what.. Wherein hath Cæfar thus deferved your loves? To Το [will. All. Moft true--- the will---let's stay and hear the Ant. Here is the will, and under Cæfar's feal. every Roman citizen he gives, every feveral man, feventy-five drachmas. 2 Pleb. Moft noble Cæfar! we'll revenge his death. 3 Pleb. O royal Cæfar! Ant. Hear me with patience. All. Peace, ho! Ant. Moreover, he hath left you all his walks, His private arbors, and new-planted orchards, (23) On that fide Tiber; he hath left them you,, And with the brands fire all the traitors houses. 2. Pleb. Go fetch fire. 3 Pleb. Pluck down benches. 4 Pleb. Pluck down forms, windows, any thing. [Exeunt Plebeians with the Body. Ant. Now let it work; Mifchief, thou art afoot, Take thou what courfe thou wilt!------How now, fellow? Enter a Servant. Ser. Octavius is already come to Rome. Ser. He and Lepidus are at Cæfar's house. Ant. And thither will I ftraight, to vifit him; He comes upon a with. Fortune is merry, (23) On this fide Tiber;] The fcene is here in the Forum near the Capitol, and in the most frequented part of the city; but Cæfar's gardens were very remote from that quarter. Trans Tiberim longe cubat is prope Cafaris hortos, fays Horace; and both the Naumachia and Gardens of Cæfar were feparated from the main city by the river, and lay out wide, on a line with mount Janiculum, where Statius the poet was buried. Our Author therefore sertainly wrote; On that fide Tiber.And Plutarch, whom Shakespeare very diligently studied, in the life of Marcus Brutus, fpeaking of Cæfar's will, exprefly fays, that he left to the public his gardens and walks beyond the Tiber, where, in that Author's time, the temple of Fortune stood. And in this mood will give us any thing. Ser. I heard him fay, Brutus and Caffius Are rid, like madmen, through the gates of Rome. Ant. Belike they had fome notice of the people, How I had moved them. Bring me to Octavius. [Exeunt. Enter CINNA the Poet, and after him the Plebeians. Cin. I dream'd to-night,that I did feaft with Cæfar, And things unluckily charge my fantasy. I have no will to wander out of doors: Yet fomething leads me forth. 1 Pleb. What is your name? 2 Pleb. Whither are you going! 3 Pleb Where do you dwell? 4 Pleb. Are you a married man, or a bachelor? 2 Pleb. Anfwer every man directly. 1 Pleb. Ay, and briefly. 4 Pleb. Ay, and wifely. 3 Pleb. Ay, and truly, you were best. Cin. What is my name? whither am I going? where do I dwell? am I a married man, or a ba chelor? Then to answer every man directly and briefly, wifely and truly; wifely, I fay-I am a bachelor. 4 Pleb. That's as much as to fay, they are fools that marry: you'll bear me a bang for that, I fear. Proceed directly. Cin. Directly, I am going to Cæfar's funeral. 1 Pleb. As a friend, or an enemy? Cin. As a friend. 2 Pleb. That matter is anfwered directly. |