Speak to me, what thou art.

Ghoft. Thy evil spirit, Brutus.

Bru. Why com'ft thou?

Ghost. To tell thee, thou fhalt fee me at Philippi.
Bru. Well; Then I fhall fee thee again?

Ghoft. Ay, at Philippi.

[Exit Ghoft. Bru. Why, I will fee thee at Philippi then.Now I have taken heart thou vanishest:

Ill fpirit, I would hold more talk with thee.—
Boy! Lucius!-Varro! Claudius! Sirs, awake!—
Claudius!

Luc. The ftrings, my lord, are falfe.

Bru. He thinks, he still is at his instrument.Lucius, awake

Luc. My lord!

Bru. Didft thou dream, Lucius, that thou fo cry'dft out?

Luc. My lord, I do not know that I did cry. Bru. Yes, that thou didft: Didst thou see any thing?

Luc. Nothing, my lord.

Bru. Sleep again, Lucius.-Sirrah, Claudius! Fellow thou! awake.

Var. My lord.

Clau. My lord.

Bru. Why did you fo cry out, firs, in your sleep?

Both. Did we, my

lord?

Bru. Ay; Saw you any thing?

Var. No, my lord, I faw nothing.

Clau. Nor I, my lord.

Bru. Go, and commend me to my brother Caffius;

Bid him fet on his powers betimes before,

And we will follow.

Both. It fhall be done, my lord.

[Exeunt.

ACT

ACT V.

SCENE 1. The plains of Philippi.

Enter OCTAVIUS, ANTONY, and their army.
08a. Now, Antony, our hopes are anfwer'd:
You faid, the enemy would not come down,
But keep the hills and upper regions;

It

proves not fo; their battles are at hand;
They mean to warn us at Philippi here,
Anfwering before we do demand of them.
Ant. Tut, I am in their bofoms, and I know
Wherefore they do it: they could be content
To vifit other places; and come down
With fearful bravery, thinking, by this face,
To faften in our thoughts that they have courage;
But 'tis not fo.

Enter a Meffenger.

Mef. Prepare you, generals:

The enemy comes on in gallant fhew;
Their bloody fign of battle is hung out,
And fomething to be done immediately.
Ant. Octavius, lead your battle foftly on,
Upon the left hand of the even field.

Oda. Upon the right hand I, keep thou the left.
Ant. Why do you crofs me in this exigent?
Oda. I do not cross you; but I will do so. [March.
Drum. Enter BRUTUS, CASSIUS, and their army;
LUCILIUS, TITINIUS, MESSALA, &c.

Bru. They ftand, and would have parley.
Caf. Stand faft, Titinius: We must out and talk,
Qua. Mark Antony, fhall we give fign of battle?
Ant. No, Cæfar, we will anfwer on their charge.

G 2

Make

Aa V. Make forth, the generals would have fome words. Oda. Stir not until the fignal.

Bru. Words before blows? Is it not fo, countrymen? Oda. Not that we love words better, as you do. Bru. Good words are better than bad ftrokes, Octavius. Ant. In your bad ftrokes, Brutus, you give good Witnefs the hole you made in Cæfar's heart, [words: Crying, Long live! hail, Cafar!

Caf. Antony,

The posture of

your blows are yet unknown; But for your words, they rob the Hybla bees, And leave them honeyless.

Ant. Not ftinglefs too.

Bru. O, yes, and foundlefs too;

For you have ftol'n their buzzing, Antony,
And, very wifely, threat before you fting.

Ant. Villains, you did not fo, when your vile daggers Hack'd one another in the fides of Cæfar:

You fhew'd your teeth like apes, and fawn'd like hounds,
And bow'd like bondmen, kiffing Cæfar's feet;
Whilft damned Casca, like a cur behind,
Struck Cæfar on the neck. O you flatterers!
Caf. Flatterers!--Now, Brutus, thank yourself:
This tongue had not offended so to-day,
If Caffius might have rul'd.

Oda. Come, come, the caufe: If arguing make us The proof of it will turn to redder drops.

[fweat,

Look, I draw a fword againft confpirators;
When think you that the fword goes up again?—
Never, 'till Cæfar's three and twenty wounds
Be well aveng'd; or 'till another Cæfar
Have added flaughter to the fword of traitors.
Bru. Cæfar, thou canst not die by traitors' hands,
Unless thou bring'ft them with thee.

Oda. So I hope;

I was

I was not born to die on Brutus' fword.

Bru. O, if thou wert the noblest of thy strain, Young man, thou could'st not die more honourable. Caf. A peevish school-boy, worthless of such honour, Join'd with a mafker and a reveller,

Ant. Old Caffius ftill!

Oda. Come, Antony; away.Defiance, traitors, hurl we in your teeth: you dare fight to-day, come to the field; If not, when you have ftomachs.

If

[Exeunt OCTAVIUS, ANTONY, and their army. Caf. Why now, blow, wind; fwell, billow; and fwim, bark!

The storm is up, and all is on the hazard. Bru. Ho, Lucilius; hark, a word with you. [LUCILIUS, and MESSALA, ftand forth. [BRUTUS peaks apart to LUCILIUS.

Luc. My lord.

Caf. Meffala,

Mef. What fays my general?
Caf. Meffala,

This is my birth-day; as this very day

Was Caffius born. Give me thy hand, Meffala:
Be thou my witness, that against my will,
As Pompey was, am I compell'd to fet
Upon one battle all our liberties.

You know, that I held Epicurus ftrong,
And his opinion: now I change my mind,
And partly credit things that do prefage.
Coming from Sardis, on our foremost enfign
Two mighty eagles fell; and there they perch'd,
Gorging and feeding from our foldiers' hands;
Who to Philippi here conforted us :
This morning are they fled away, and gone;

G3

And,

And, in their fteads, do ravens, crows, and kites,
Fly o'er our heads, and downward look on us,
As we were fickly prey; their fhadows feem
A canopy moft fatal, under which

Our army lies, ready to give up the ghost.
Mef. Believe not fo.

Caf. I but believe it partly;

For I am fresh of spirit, and refolv❜d
To meet all perils very constantly.
Bru. Even fo, Lucilius.

Caf. Now, moft noble Brutus,

The gods to-day ftand friendly; that we may,
Lovers, in peace lead on our days to age!
But fince the affairs of men reft still uncertain,
Let's reafon with the worst that may befal.
If we do lofe this battle, then is this
The very laft time we fhall fpeak together:
What are you then determined to do?

Bru. Even by the rule of that philofophy,
By which I did blame Cato for the death
Which he did give himself;-I know not how,
But I do find it cowardly and vile,

For fear of what might fall, fo to prevent
The time of life:-arming myfelf with patience,
To stay the providence of fome high powers,
That govern us below.

Caf. Then, if we lose this battle,
You are contented to be led in triumph
Thorough the streets of Rome?

Bru. No, Caffius, no: think not, thou noble Roman, That ever Brutus will go bound to Rome; He bears too great a mind. But this fame day Muft end that work, the ides of March begun : And whether we fhall meet again, I know not.

Therefore