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with him lighted from their horses, and went and embraced him. The rest compassed him in round about on horseback, with songs of victory, and great rushing of their harness, so that they made all the field ring again for joy. But this marred all. For Cassius, thinking indeed that Titinius was taken of the enemies, he then spake these words: "Desiring too much to live, I have lived to see one of my best friends taken, for my sake, before my face." After that, he got into a tent where nobody was, and took Pindarus with him, one of his bondmen whom he reserved ever for such a pinch, since the cursed battle of the Parthians where Crassus was slain, though he notwithstanding scaped from that overthrow: but then casting his cloak over his head, and holding out his bare neck unto Pindarus, he gave him his head to be stricken off (V, iii, 35-49). So the head was found severed from the body; but after that time Pindarus was never seen more; whereupon some took occasion to say that he had slain his master without his commandment (V, iii). By and by they knew the horsemen that came towards them, and might see Titinius crowned with a garland of triumph, who came before with great speed unto Cassius. But when he perceived, by the cries and tears of his friends which tormented themselves, the misfortune which had chanced to his captain Cassius by mistaking, he drew out his sword, cursing himself a thousand times that he had tarried so long, and so slew himself presently on the field (V, iii, 89). Brutus in the meantime came forward still, and understood also that Cassius had been overthrown; but he knew nothing of his death, till he came very near to his camp. So when he was come thither, after he had lamented the death of Cassius, calling him the last of all the Romans (V, iii, 98),* being impossible that Rome should ever breed again so noble and valiant a man as he; he caused his body to be buried, and sent it to the city of Thassos, fearing lest his funerals within his camp should cause great disorder (V, iii, 90-109) '—29.

'There was the son of Marcus Cato slain, valiantly fighting among the lusty youth (V, iv, 1-11). For notwithstanding that he was very weary and over-harried, yet would he not therefore fly, but manfully fighting and laying about him, telling aloud his name, and also his father's name, at length he was beaten down amongst many other dead bodies of his enemies which he had slain round about him.'†

* Suetonius (iii, 61) quotes this same phrase, as applied both to Brutus and Cassius.

+ 'While fighting at Philippi, against Cæsar and Antonius, in de

'There was one of Brutus's friends called Lucilius, who seeing a troop of barbarous men making no reckoning of all men else they met in their way, but going altogether right against Brutus, he determined to stay them with the hazard of his life, and being left behind, told them that he was Brutus (V, iv, 9-14); and because they should believe him, he prayed them to bring him to Antonius, for he said he was afraid of Cæsar, and that he did trust Antonius better. These barbarous men being very glad of this good hap, and thinking themselves happy men, they carried him in the night, and sent some before unto Antonius to tell him of their coming. He was marvellous glad of it, and went out to meet them that brought him. Lucilius was brought to him, who with a bold countenance said: "Antonius, I dare assure thee that no enemy hath taken, or shall take, Marcus Brutus alive; and I beseech God keep him from that fortune; but wheresoever he be found, alive or dead, he will be found like himself." Lucilius's words made them all ainazed that heard him. Antonius (V, iv, 26-29), on the other side, looking upon all them that had brought him, said unto them: "My friends, I think ye are sorry you have failed of your purpose, and that you think this man hath done great wrong; but I assure you, you have taken a better booty than that you followed; for, instead of an enemy, you have brought me a friend and for my part, if you had brought me Brutus alive, truly I cannot tell what I should have done to him; for I had rather have such men as this my friends than my enemies." Then he embraced Lucilius, and at that time delivered him to one of his friends in custody; and Lucilius ever after served him faithfully even to his death'-31.

'Brutus thought that there was no great number of men slain in battle; and, to know the truth of it, there was one called Statilius that promised to go through his enemies (for otherwise it was impossible to go see their camp), and from thence if all were well, that he would lift up a torch-light in the air, and then return again with speed to him. The torchlight was lift up as he had promised, for Statilius went thither. Now, Brutus seeing Statilius tarry long after that, and that he came not again, he said, "If Statilius be alive, he will come again." But his evil fortune was such that, as he came fence of liberty, and the line was giving way, not deigning either to fly or to secrete himself, but challenging the enemy, and showing himself in front of them, and cheering on those who kept the ground with him, he fell, after exhibiting to his adversaries prodigies of valour '-Plutarch's Cato, 73.

back, he lighted in his enemies' hands and was slain. Now, the night being far spent, Brutus, as he sat, bowed towards Clitus (V, v), one of his men, and told him somewhat in his ear: the other answered him not, but fell a-weeping. Thereupon he proved Dardanus, and said somewhat also to him. At length he came to Volumnius himself, and speaking to him in Greek, prayed him, for the studies' sake which brought them acquainted together, that he would help him to put his hand to his sword to thrust it in him to kill him. Volumnius denied his request; and so did many others. And amongst the rest one of them said there was no tarrying for them there, but that they must needs fly; then Brutus rising up, "We must fly indeed," said he, "but it must be with our hands, not with our feet." Then taking every man by the hand, he said these words unto them with a cheerful countenance: "It rejoiceth my heart (V, v, 31-42), that not one of my friends hath failed me at my nced; and I do not complain of my fortune but only for my country's sake: for as for me, I think myself happier than they that have overcome, considering that I have a perpetual fame of our courage and manhood, the which our enemies the conquerors shall never attain unto by force nor money, neither can let (hinder) their posterity to say that they being naughty and unjust men, have slain good men, to usurp tyrannical power not pertaining to them." Having said so, he prayed every man to shift for themselves; and then he went a little aside with two or three only, among the which Strato was one, with whom he came first acquainted by the study of rhetoric. He came as near to him as he could, and taking his sword by the hilts with both his hands, and falling down upon the point of it, ran himself through. Others say that not he, but Strato at his request, held the sword in his hand, and turned his head aside, and that Brutus fell down upon it, and so ran himself through and died presently. Messala that had been Brutus's great friend, became afterwards Octavius Cæsar's friend. So, shortly after, Cæsar being at good leisure, he brought Strato (V, v, 53-67), Brutus's friend, unto him, and weeping said: Cæsar, behold here is he that did the last service to my Brutus." Cæsar welcomed him at that time, and afterwards he did him as faithful service, in all his affairs, as any Grecian else he had about him, until the battle of Actium.'

'For Porcia, Brutus's wife, Nicolaus the philosopher and Valerius Maximus do write, that she determining to kill herself (her friends carefully looking to her to keep her from it), took hot burning coals, and cast them into her mouth,

C

and kept her mouth so close that she choked herself (IV, iii, 152-156). There was a letter of Brutus found, written to his friends, complaining of their negligence, that his wife being sick, they would not help her, but suffered her to kill herself, choosing to die rather than to languish in pain. Thus it appears that Nicolaus knew not well that time, sith the letter (at the least if it were Brutus's letter) doth plainly declare the decease and love of this lady, and also the manner of her death'-32.

III. Extract from Plutarch's 'Lije of Antony.

'All three met together (to wit, Cæsar, Antonius, and Lepidus) in an island environed round about with a little river, and there remained three days together (IV, i). Now, as touching all other matters, they were easily agreed, and did divide all the empire of Rome between them, as if it had been their own inheritance. But yet they could hardly agree whom they would put to death; for every one of them would kill their enemies, and save their kinsman and friends. Yet, at length, giving place to their greedy desire to be revenged of their enemies, they spurned all reverence of blood and holiness of friendship at their feet. For Cæsar left Cicero to Antonius's will; Antonius also forsook Lucius Cæsar, who was his uncle by his mother; and both of them together suffered Lepidus to kill his own brother Paulus. Yet some writers affirm that Cæsar and Antonius requested Paulus might be slain, and that Lepidus was contented with it.'

SHAKESPEARE'S IDEA OF JULIUS CÆSAR.

Shakespeare seems to have made the character of Julius Cæsar a special study. No other historical personage is so frequently referred to, or spoken of in such laudatory terms by him, as Cæsar. Although we have only this play left, it is not improbable that Shakespeare had placed upon the stage a complete view of the career of the great Roman conqueror. In the catalogue of plays which forms the table of contents in the first folio, 1623, The Life and Death of Julius Cæsar is the title given to this play, but in the body of the volume (pp. 109-130) it appears as The Tragedie of Julius Cæsar. The former title appears to suggest that in an earlier drama, Shakespeare had dealt with the Life— probably closing with the decisive battle fought on the plain of Pharsalus, against Pompey, B.C. 48, which made Cæsar

the master of the Roman world; while in this he exhibited the Death, or as it may justly be called, The Tragedie of Julius Cæsar. It is, at any rate, quite apparent that this drama alone is but an inadequate representation of the foremost man in all the Roman world. Cæsar's personal part in the play ends with the opening of the third act, and thereafter his corpse, his memory, and his ghost keep up and indicate the influence and power of 'the mightiest Julius.' We have now, however, no full-length representation of the complete, heroic, conquering Cæsar, from Shakespeare's pen. It is, nevertheless, both curious and interesting to trace the conception of Cæsar which the great dramatist had formed in his own mind, and to take in, as far as we can, the impression his imagination had received during the course of his studies and thoughts, of 'imperial Cæsar,' as a living force and individuality. As there can be no doubt that such a collection of passages from Shakespeare's writings, as would enable us to know what he thought of his hero, would help us to understand the characterisation of Cæsar given here; we shall endeavour to set forth, in order, so many of these as memory and research enable us to produce.

First let us take some casual allusions to the ambitious and

prevailing Roman. When Sir John Falstaff proposes to mine host of the Garter,' to 'sit at ten pounds a-week' as his permanent guest, the innkeeper exclaims admiringly, yet with an anti-climax into fun, 'Thou'rt an emperor, Cæsar, Keisar, and Pheezar' (Merry Wives of Windsor, I, iii, 6). In Love's Labour's Lost, when Holofernes enters, in the masque as Judas, and expresses fear lest he should be 'put out of countenance,' Biron objects that he has 'no face;' and when the schoolmaster, pointing to his terribly disguised visage, asks, 'What is this?' Longaville likens it to 'the face of an old Roman coin, scarce seen,' and Boyet compares it to 'the pommel of Cæsar's falchion' (V, ii, 610-618). Escalus, in Measure for Measure, threatens Pompey, who has been brought before him, thus, 'I shall beat you to your tent, and prove a shrewd Cæsar to you' (II, i, 263); and in the same play, when Pompey is again in the hands of the officers, and on his way to prison, Lucio says, ironically, 'How now, noble Pompey! What, at the wheels of Cæsar? Art thou led in triumph?' (III, ii, 47.) Iago, speaking of Cassio, says:

'He is a soldier fit to stand by Cæsar,

And give direction'-Othello, II, iii, 125;

while in All's Well that Ends Well, the First Lord jestingly

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