in thy true colors. Many nouns are used as verbs by Shakespeare and other Elizabethan writers. 270. Here lies the east, etc. Experience shows that men are inclined at a crisis to relieve their feelings by talking of the weather or such indifferent matters. 271. cautelous, crafty, deceitful; 272. break with him, communicate the plot to him; 272. boldly but not wrathfully. Brutus wished to preserve the calm feelings of sacrificing priests. 273. let him not die. Trebonius was a friend of Antony. 274. unicorns may be betrayed with trees. Spenser in the "Faerie Queene" tells how a unicorn (a fabled animal with one horn) charging a lion standing in front of a tree, misses the lion, which slips aside, and fixes its horn so firmly in the tree that it is at the mercy of its enemies. 275. physical, good for the health; 277. thy. The change from you to this pronoun, used only in moments of great feeling, shows how deeply the heart of Brutus is moved by the revelation of his wife's devotion. 277. charactery, etc. His sad brows are symbols which must be interpreted by revealing the thoughts they express. 277. To wear a kerchief, be ill. "Kerchief" has in Shakespeare the meaning of the French word couvrechef (covering for the head), from which it is derived.

Scene II. 278. night-gown, dressing-gown; 279. hurtled, clashed; 280. afeard, an old form of "afraid"; 281. statua, an old variant of statue, pronounced as a trisyllable; 282. hour's, pronounced in two syllables; 283. yearns, grieves.

Scene III. 283. lover, friend; 283. the teeth of emulation, away from

envy.

Scene IV. 284. soothsayer, literally truth-speaker, a prophet; 285. void, open; 285. Brutus hath a suit. For a moment Portia forgets the boy's presence and speaks out her inmost thought before him.

Act III

Scene I. 288. Et tu, Brute! This exclamation is given in the very words in which it is supposed to have been uttered, "Wilt thou too stab Cæsar?" 288. Ambition's debt is paid. Ambitious Cæsar has paid the penalty of his ambition, and no one else need fear us. 288. pulpit, a stage or platform from which to address an audience; 289. bathe our hands in Cæsar's blood. In this way all acknowledged in the most open way their responsibility for the deed. Pontius Pilate, when disclaiming responsibility

for the crucifixion, washed his hands in water. 290. Pompey's basis, the pedestal of Pompey's statue; 291. my misgiving still, etc. My doubts too often prove to be very near the mark. 291. let blood, a euphemism for "killed"; 291. rank, so overgrown that he requires to be cut; 292. so pity pity. Pity for Rome drove pity for Cæsar out of their hearts. 292. of brothers' temper. Brutus means that toward Antony they had no more malice than brothers had toward one another. 293. lethe, an illusion to Lethe (Le'thē), the stream of oblivion; 293. Mark Antony. Cassius is impatient to know Antony's attitude toward the conspirators. 293. prick'd, marked by a puncture on a list; 294. our Cæsar's death. By "our" Brutus claims to be as much a lover of Cæsar as Brutus was. 295. Ate (a'-tē), the Greek goddess of discord.

Scene II. 297. censure, in Shakespeare's time often meant merely to judge; 298. Let him be Cæsar. The crowd is so utterly insensible to the motives claimed by Brutus that they would reward him by exalting him to the very height of power which in Cæsar's case he had just condemned. 302. the Nervii, a fierce Belgian tribe conquered by Cæsar during one of his Gallic campaigns; 302. The dint of pity, its impression or influence; 304. drachmas, Greek coins, worth each about nineteen cents.

Scene III. 306. bear me a bang, I will owe you a blow; 306. turn him going, send him about, the other way.

Act IV

Scene I. 307. unmeritable, undeserving; 307. business, pronounce busi-ness; 307. soldier, pronounce sol-di-er.

Scene II. 309. fall their crests, an intransitive use, meaning "lower"; 310. content, be contained or restrained; 310. enlarge your griefs, set them forth in detail.

Scene III. 310. nice offense, minor disturbance; 312. observe you, be reverential to you; 313. By any indirection, crookedness, dishonesty; 313. Cassius, three syllables here; 315. fashion, a trisyllable here; 316. her attendants absent. It is said that Portia put burning coals into her mouth. 317. once, some time; 317. our work alive, the duty that we the living must do; 318. niggard, satisfy sparingly; 319. knave, boy, the old sense of the word.

Act V

Scene I. 322. in their bosoms, I know the secrets of their hearts; 322. they could be content, would be glad; 322. fearful bravery, gallant show; 322. I do not cross you, etc. Octavius forbears to cross Antony now, when union is necessary for victory, but with foresight of the coming struggle intends to do so at some future period. 323. the Hybla bees. Hybla was a town in Sicily, famous for its honey. 323. If Cassius might have ruled. If the advice of Cassius had been followed, they would not have met the enemy until a later date, and Antony would have been in such a hopeless position his language would have been more humble. 324. A peevish schoolboy. Octavius was in his twenty-first year at this time. 325. held Epicurus strong, held firmly the belief of Epicurus against omens and portents; 325. ravens, birds of ill-omen; 326. Must end that work. Brutus thinks that he will either be killed in battle or gain a glorious victory. Scene II. 326. bills, written orders.

Scene III. 330. Thassos (thä'sōs), an island near Philippi.

Scene IV. 331. Only I yield, I yield only to die; 331. There is so much, so much money on condition the soldier will kill him immediately.

Scene V. 334. smatch, a form of smack; 334. be still. Brutus thinks that by dying he will succeed in laying Cæsar's ghost. 334. Lucilius' saying. See Scene IV, line 15. 334. bestow thy time, become my servant; 334. prefer, recommend.

A LIST OF BOOKS FOR HOME READING

We should accustom the mind to the best company by introducing it only to the best books.