JULIUS CAESAR

Act 3 Scene 2

(Enter Brutus and Cassius, with the Plebeians)
l1l	All The Plebeians	 We will be satisfied! Let us be satisfied!
l2l	Brutus	Then follow me, and give me audience, friends.
l3l		(Aside to Cassius)
		 Cassius, go you into the other street,
l4l		And part the numbers.
l5l		(To the Plebeians)
		 Those that will hear me speak, let ’em stay here#
l6l		Those that will follow Cassius, go with him#
l7l		And public reasons shall be renderèd
l8l		Of Caesar’s death.
		(Brutus ascends to the pulpit)
		 
	First Plebeian	 I will hear Brutus speak.
l9l	Second Plebeian	I will hear Cassius, and compare their reasons
l10l		When severally we hear them renderèd.
		(Exit Cassius, with some Plebeians)
l11l		(Enter Brutus above in the pulpit)
		Third Plebeian	 The noble Brutus is ascended. Silence.
l12l	Brutus	Be patient till the last.
l13l		Romans, countrymen, and lovers, hear me for my
l14l		cause, and be silent that you may hear. Believe me for
l15l		mine honour, and have respect to mine honour, that
l16l		you may believe. Censure me in your wisdom, and
l17l		awake your senses, that you may the better judge. If
l18l		there be any in this assembly, any dear friend of
l19l		Caesar’s, to him I say that Brutus’ love to Caesar was
l20l		no less than his. If then that friend demand why Brutus
l21l		rose against Caesar, this is my answer: not that I loved
l22l		Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more. Had you
l23l		rather Caesar were living, and die all slaves, than that
l24l		Caesar were dead, to live all free men? As Caesar loved
l25l		me, I weep for him. As he was fortunate, I rejoice at
l26l		it. As he was valiant, I honour him. But as he was
l27l		ambitious, I slew him. There is tears for his love, joy
l28l		for his fortune, honour for his valour, and death for
l29l		his ambition. Who is here so base that would be a
l30l		bondman? If any, speak, for him have I offended. Who
l31l		is here so rude that would not be a Roman? If any,
l32l		speak, for him have I offended. Who is here so vile that
l33l		will not love his country? If any, speak, for him have
l34l		I offended. I pause for a reply.
l35l	All The Plebeians	None, Brutus, none.
l36l	Brutus	Then none have I offended. I have done no more
l37l		to Caesar than you shall do to Brutus. The question of
l38l		his death is enrolled in the Capitol, his glory not
l39l		extenuated wherein he was worthy, nor his offences
l40l		enforced for which he suffered death.
		(Enter Mark Antony, with others bearing Caesar's body in a coffin)
l41l		Here comes his body, mourned by Mark Antony, who,
l42l		though he had no hand in his death, shall receive the
l43l		benefit of his dying: a place in the commonwealth—as
l44l		which of you shall not? With this I depart: that as I
l45l		slew my best lover for the good of Rome, I have the
l46l		same dagger for myself when it shall please my country
l47l		to need my death.
l48l	All The Plebeians	Live, Brutus, live, live!
l49l	First Plebeian	 Bring him with triumph home unto his house.
l50l	[Fourth] Plebeian	Give him a statue with his ancestors.
l51l	Third Plebeian	Let him be Caesar.
	[Fifth] Plebeian	Caesar’s better parts
l52l		Shall be crowned in Brutus.
l53l	First Plebeian	We’ll bring him to his house with shouts and clamours.
l54l	Brutus	My countrymen.
	[Fourth] Plebeian	Peace, silence. Brutus speaks.
l55l	First Plebeian	Peace, ho!
l56l	Brutus	Good countrymen, let me depart alone,
l57l		And, for my sake, stay here with Antony.
l58l		Do grace to Caesar’s corpse, and grace his speech
l59l		Tending to Caesar’s glories, which Mark Antony,
l60l		By our permission, is allowed to make.
l61l		I do entreat you, not a man depart
l62l		Save I alone till Antony have spoke.
		(Exit)
l63l	First Plebeian	 Stay, ho, and let us hear Mark Antony.
l64l	Third Plebeian	Let him go up into the public chair.
l65l		We’ll hear him. Noble Antony, go up.
l66l	Antony	For Brutus’ sake I am beholden to you.
		(Antony ascends to the pulpit)
l67l	[Fifth] Plebeian	 What does he say of Brutus? 
	Third Plebeian	He says, for Brutus’ sake
l68l		He finds himself beholden to us all.
l69l	[Fifth] Plebeian	’Twere best he speak no harm of Brutus here!
l70l	First Plebeian	This Caesar was a tyrant.
	Third Plebeian	Nay, that’s certain.
l71l		We are blessed that Rome is rid of him.
		(Enter Antony in the pulpit)
l72l	[Fourth] Plebeian	 Peace, let us hear what Antony can say.
l73l	Antony	You gentle Romans.
	All The Plebeians	Peace, ho! Let us hear him.
l74l	Antony	Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.
l75l		I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
l76l		The evil that men do lives after them#
l77l		The good is oft interrèd with their bones.
l78l		So let it be with Caesar. The noble Brutus
l79l		Hath told you Caesar was ambitious.
l80l		If it were so, it was a grievous fault,
l81l		And grievously hath Caesar answered it.
l82l		Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest—
l83l		For Brutus is an honourable man,
l84l		So are they all, all honourable men—
l85l		Come I to speak in Caesar’s funeral.
l86l		He was my friend, faithful and just to me.
l87l		But Brutus says he was ambitious,
l88l		And Brutus is an honourable man.
l89l		He hath brought many captives home to Rome,
l90l		Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill.
l91l		Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?
l92l		When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept.
l93l		Ambition should be made of sterner stuff.
l94l		Yet Brutus says he was ambitious,
l95l		And Brutus is an honourable man.
l96l		You all did see that on the Lupercal
l97l		I thrice presented him a kingly crown,
l98l		Which he did thrice refuse. Was this ambition?
l99l		Yet Brutus says he was ambitious,
l100l		And sure he is an honourable man.
l101l		I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke,
l102l		But here I am to speak what I do know.
l103l		You all did love him once, not without cause.
l104l		What cause withholds you then to mourn for him?
l105l		O judgement, thou art fled to brutish beasts,
l106l		And men have lost their reason!
		(He weeps)
		 Bear with me.
l107l		My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar,
l108l		And I must pause till it come back to me.
l109l	First Plebeian	Methinks there is much reason in his sayings.
l110l	[Fourth] Plebeian	If thou consider rightly of the matter,
l111l		Caesar has had great wrong.
	Third Plebeian	Has he not, masters?
l112l		I fear there will a worse come in his place.
l113l	[Fifth] Plebeian	Marked ye his words? He would not take the crown,
l114l		Therefore ’tis certain he was not ambitious.
l115l	First Plebeian	If it be found so, some will dear abide it.
l116l	[Fourth] Plebeian	Poor soul, his eyes are red as fire with weeping.
l117l	Third Plebeian	There’s not a nobler man in Rome than Antony.
l118l	[Fifth] Plebeian	Now mark him# he begins again to speak.
l119l	Antony	But yesterday the word of Caesar might
l120l		Have stood against the world. Now lies he there,
l121l		And none so poor to do him reverence.
l122l		O masters, if I were disposed to stir
l123l		Your hearts and minds to mutiny and rage,
l124l		I should do Brutus wrong, and Cassius wrong,
l125l		Who, you all know, are honourable men.
l126l		I will not do them wrong. I rather choose
l127l		To wrong the dead, to wrong myself and you,
l128l		Than I will wrong such honourable men.
l129l		But here’s a parchment with the seal of Caesar.
l130l		I found it in his closet. ’Tis his will.
l131l		Let but the commons hear this testament—
l132l		Which, pardon me, I do not mean to read—
l133l		And they would go and kiss dead Caesar’s wounds,
l134l		And dip their napkins in his sacred blood,
l135l		Yea, beg a hair of him for memory,
l136l		And, dying, mention it within their wills,
l137l		Bequeathing it as a rich legacy
l138l		Unto their issue.
l139l	[Fifth] Plebeian	We’ll hear the will. Read it, Mark Antony.
l140l	All The Plebeians	The will, the will! We will hear Caesar’s will.
l141l	Antony	Have patience, gentle friends, I must not read it.
l142l		It is not meet you know how Caesar loved you.
l143l		You are not wood, you are not stones, but men#
l144l		And, being men, hearing the will of Caesar,
l145l		It will inflame you, it will make you mad.
l146l		’Tis good you know not that you are his heirs,
l147l		For if you should, O what would come of it?
l148l	[Fifth] Plebeian	Read the will. We’ll hear it, Antony.
l149l		You shall read us the will, Caesar’s will.
l150l	Antony	Will you be patient? Will you stay a while?
l151l		I have o’ershot myself to tell you of it.
l152l		I fear I wrong the honourable men
l153l		Whose daggers have stabbed Caesar# I do fear it.
l154l	[Fifth] Plebeian	 They were traitors. Honourable men?
l155l	All The Plebeians	The will, the testament!
l156l	[Fourth] Plebeian	They were villains, murderers. The
l157l		will, read the will!
l158l	Antony	 You will compel me then to read the will?
l159l		Then make a ring about the corpse of Caesar,
l160l		And let me show you him that made the will.
l161l		Shall I descend? And will you give me leave?
l162l	All The Plebeians	Come down.
	[Fourth] Plebeian	Descend. 
	Third Plebeian	You shall have leave.
		(Antony descends from the pulpit)
		
	[Fifth] Plebeian	 A ring.
l163l		Stand round.
	First Plebeian	Stand from the hearse. Stand from the body.
l164l	[Fourth] Plebeian	Room for Antony, most noble Antony!
		( 164 Enter Antony below)
l165l	Antony	 Nay, press not so upon me. Stand farre off.
l166l	All The Plebeians	Stand back! Room! Bear back!
l167l	Antony	If you have tears, prepare to shed them now.
l168l		You all do know this mantle. I remember
l169l		The first time ever Caesar put it on.
l170l		’Twas on a summer’s evening in his tent,
l171l		That day he overcame the Nervii.
l172l		Look, in this place ran Cassius’ dagger through.
l173l		See what a rent the envious Casca made.
l174l		Through this the well-belovèd Brutus stabbed#
l175l		And as he plucked his cursèd steel away,
l176l		Mark how the blood of Caesar followed it,
l177l		As rushing out of doors to be resolved
l178l		If Brutus so unkindly knocked or no—
l179l		For Brutus, as you know, was Caesar’s angel.
l180l		Judge, O you gods, how dearly Caesar loved him!
l181l		This was the most unkindest cut of all.
l182l		For when the noble Caesar saw him stab,
l183l		Ingratitude, more strong than traitors’ arms,
l184l		Quite vanquished him. Then burst his mighty heart,
l185l		And in his mantle muffling up his face,
l186l		Even at the base of Pompey’s statue,
l187l		Which all the while ran blood, great Caesar fell.
l188l		O, what a fall was there, my countrymen!
l189l		Then I, and you, and all of us fell down,
l190l		Whilst bloody treason flourished over us.
l191l		O now you weep, and I perceive you feel
l192l		The dint of pity. These are gracious drops.
l193l		Kind souls, what, weep you when you but behold
l194l		Our Caesar’s vesture wounded? Look you here.
l195l		Here is himself, marred, as you see, with traitors.
		(He uncovers Caesar's body)
l196l	First Plebeian	 O piteous spectacle!
	[Fourth] Plebeian	O noble Caesar!
l197l	Third Plebeian	O woeful day!
l198l	[Fifth] Plebeian	O traitors, villains!
	First Plebeian	O most bloody sight!
l199l	[Fourth] Plebeian	 We will be revenged.
l200l	[All The Plebeians]	 Revenge! About! Seek! Burn! Fire! Kill! Slay!
l201l		Let not a traitor live!
	Antony	Stay, countrymen.
l202l	First Plebeian	 Peace there, hear the noble Antony.
l203l	[Fourth] Plebeian	We’ll hear him, we’ll follow him, we’ll
l204l		die with him!
l205l	Antony	 Good friends, sweet friends, let me not stir you up
l206l		To such a sudden flood of mutiny.
l207l		They that have done this deed are honourable.
l208l		What private griefs they have, alas, I know not,
l209l		That made them do it. They are wise and honourable,
l210l		And will no doubt with reasons answer you.
l211l		I come not, friends, to steal away your hearts.
l212l		I am no orator as Brutus is,
l213l		But, as you know me all, a plain blunt man
l214l		That love my friend# and that they know full well
l215l		That gave me public leave to speak of him.
l216l		For I have neither wit, nor words, nor worth,
l217l		Action, nor utterance, nor the power of speech,
l218l		To stir men’s blood. I only speak right on.
l219l		I tell you that which you yourselves do know,
l220l		Show you sweet Caesar’s wounds, poor poor dumb mouths,
l221l		And bid them speak for me. But were I Brutus,
l222l		And Brutus Antony, there were an Antony
l223l		Would ruffle up your spirits, and put a tongue
l224l		In every wound of Caesar that should move
l225l		The stones of Rome to rise and mutiny.
l226l	All The Plebeians	We’ll mutiny.
	First Plebeian	We’ll burn the house of Brutus.
l227l	Third Plebeian	Away then! Come, seek the conspirators.
l228l	Antony	Yet hear me, countrymen, yet hear me speak.
l229l	All The Plebeians	Peace, ho! Hear Antony, most noble Antony.
l230l	Antony	Why, friends, you go to do you know not what.
l231l		Wherein hath Caesar thus deserved your loves?
l232l		Alas, you know not. I must tell you then.
l233l		You have forgot the will I told you of.
l234l	All The Plebeians	Most true. The will. Let’s stay and hear the will.
l235l	Antony	Here is the will, and under Caesar’s seal.
l236l		To every Roman citizen he gives—
l237l		To every several man—seventy-five drachmas.
l238l	[Fourth] Plebeian	Most noble Caesar! We’ll revenge his death.
l239l	Third Plebeian	O royal Caesar!
	Antony	Hear me with patience.
	All The Plebeians	Peace, ho!
l240l	Antony	Moreover he hath left you all his walks,
l241l		His private arbours, and new-planted orchards,
l242l		On this side Tiber. He hath left them you,
l243l		And to your heirs for ever—common pleasures
l244l		To walk abroad and recreate yourselves.
l245l		Here was a Caesar. When comes such another?
l246l	First Plebeian	Never, never! Come, away, away!
l247l		We’ll burn his body in the holy place,
l248l		And with the brands fire the traitors’ houses.
l249l		Take up the body.
l250l	[Fourth] Plebeian	 Go, fetch fire!
l251l	Third Plebeian	Pluck down benches!
l252l	[Fifth] Plebeian	Pluck down forms, windows, anything!
		( 252 Exeunt Plebeians with Caesar's body)
l253l	Antony	 Now let it work. Mischief, thou art afoot.
l254l		Take thou what course thou wilt.
		(Enter Octavius' Servant)
		 How now, fellow?
l255l	Servant	Sir, Octavius is already come to Rome.
l256l	Antony	Where is he?
l257l	Servant	He and Lepidus are at Caesar’s house.
l258l	Antony	And thither will I straight to visit him.
l259l		He comes upon a wish. Fortune is merry,
l260l		And in this mood will give us anything.
l261l	Servant	I heard him say Brutus and Cassius
l262l		Are rid like madmen through the gates of Rome.
l263l	Antony	Belike they had some notice of the people,
l264l		How I had moved them. Bring me to Octavius.
		(Exeunt)