Home > Julius Caesar Text > Act IV, Scene III - Page 3

MESSALA:

Then like a Roman bear the truth I tell:
For certain she is dead, and by strange manner.

MESSALA:

Then like a Roman accept the truth I tell.
Because it is certain she’s dead and in a strange way.

BRUTUS:

Why, farewell, Portia. We must die, Messala.
With meditating that she must die once
I have the patience to endure it now.(215)

BRUTUS:

Why, goodbye, Portia. We must die, Messala.
I think that, since she must die once,
I have the patience to endure it now.

MESSALA:

Even so great men great losses should endure.

MESSALA:

Even so great men should endure great losses.

CASSIUS:

I have as much of this in art as you,
But yet my nature could not bear it so.

CASSIUS:

I have as much of this skill as you,
But still I couldn’t bear such new like that.

BRUTUS:

Well, to our work alive. What do you think
Of marching to Philippi presently?(220)

BRUTUS:

Well, let’s get to our work. What do you think
Of marching to Philippi now?

CASSIUS:

I do not think it good.

CASSIUS:

I don’t think it’s a good idea.

BRUTUS:

Your reason?

BRUTUS:

Your reason?

CASSIUS:

This it is:
'Tis better that the enemy seek us;
So shall he waste his means, weary his soldiers,(225)
Doing himself offense, whilst we lying still
Are full of rest, defense, and nimbleness.

CASSIUS:

It’s this.
It’s better that the enemy finds us.
That way, he shall waste supplies, wear out his soldiers,
Doing great harm to himself; while we, lying still,
Are full of rest, defense, and flexibility.

BRUTUS:

Good reasons must of force give place to better.
The people 'twixt Philippi and this ground
Do stand but in a forced affection,(230)
For they have grudged us contribution.
The enemy, marching along by them,
By them shall make a fuller number up,
Come on refresh'd, new-added, and encouraged;
From which advantage shall we cut him off(235)
If at Philippi we do face him there,
These people at our back.

BRUTUS:

Good reasons must, of course, yield to better reasons.
The people between Philippi and this field
Are only our friends because we force them to,
Because they are unwilling to give us support.
The enemy, marching along with them,
Will increase their numbers with them, and
Attack refreshed, reinforced, and encouraged;
We shall cut him off from that advantage,
If we face him at Philippi, with
These people behind us.

CASSIUS:

Hear me, good brother.

CASSIUS:

Listen to me me, good brother.

BRUTUS:

Under your pardon. You must note beside
That we have tried the utmost of our friends,(240)
Our legions are brim-full, our cause is ripe:
The enemy increaseth every day;
We, at the height, are ready to decline.
There is a tide in the affairs of men
Which taken at the flood leads on to fortune;(245)
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures.(250)

BRUTUS:

Excuse me. You must note besides,
That we have gotten the utmost from our friends,
Our legions are full of men, our cause is ready for action.
The enemy increases every day;
We, at our best, are ready to fail in force.
There is a tide in the affairs of men
Which, if taken at high tide, leads to good luck;
Not taken, all the voyages of their lives
Are bound to end in shallows and in miseries.
We are now afloat on such a high tide,
And we must take the opportunity when it presents itself,
Or lose our one lucky chance.

CASSIUS:

Then, with your will, go on;
We'll along ourselves and meet them at Philippi.

CASSIUS:

Then, with your will, go on.
We'll be along soon and meet them at Philippi.

BRUTUS:

The deep of night is crept upon our talk,
And nature must obey necessity,
Which we will niggard with a little rest.(255)
There is no more to say?

BRUTUS:

The deep of night has crept over our talk,
And nature must obey necessity;
Which we will put off with a little rest.
Is there anything else to say?

CASSIUS:

No more. Good night.
Early tomorrow will we rise and hence.

CASSIUS:

No more. Good night.
We will rise early tomorrow, and be on our way.

BRUTUS:

Lucius! Enter Lucius. My gown.

[Exit Lucius.]

Farewell, good Messala;(260)
Good night, Titinius; noble, noble Cassius,
Good night and good repose.

BRUTUS:

Lucius!—My gown.—Goodbye now, good Messala.—
Good night, Titinius.—noble, noble Cassius,
Good night, and good repose.

CASSIUS:

O my dear brother!
This was an ill beginning of the night.
Never come such division 'tween our souls!(265)
Let it not, Brutus.

CASSIUS:

O my dear brother!
This was a bad beginning of the night.
Never let such disagreements come between our souls!
Don’t let it, Brutus.

Enter Lucius, with the gown.

BRUTUS:

Every thing is well.

BRUTUS:

Everything is OK.

CASSIUS:

Good night, my lord.

CASSIUS:

Good night, my lord.

BRUTUS:

Good night, good brother.

BRUTUS:

Good night, good brother.

TITINIUS AND MESSALA:

Good night, Lord Brutus.(270)

TITINIUS AND MESSALA:

Good night, Lord Brutus.

BRUTUS:

Farewell, everyone.

Exeunt [all but Brutus.]

Give me the gown. Where is thy instrument?

BRUTUS:

Goodbye, everyone.—

Give me the gown. Where is your harp?

LUCIUS:

Here in the tent.

LUCIUS:

Here in the tent.

BRUTUS:

What, thou speak'st drowsily?
Poor knave, I blame thee not, thou art o'erwatch'd.(275)
Call Claudius and some other of my men,
I'll have them sleep on cushions in my tent.

BRUTUS:

What, you speak drowsily. Poor knave, I don’t blame
You; you’ve been wake up too long. Call Claudius and some
Others of my men; I'll have them sleep on cushions in my tent.

LUCIUS:

Varro and Claudio!

LUCIUS:

Varro and Claudius!

Enter Varro and Claudio.

VARRO:

Calls my lord?

VARRO:

Calls my lord?

BRUTUS:

I pray you, sirs, lie in my tent and sleep;(280)
It may be I shall raise you by and by
On business to my brother Cassius.

BRUTUS:

Please, sirs, lie in my tent and sleep;
I might wake you up in a little while
About business to my brother Cassius.

VARRO:

So please you, we will stand and watch your pleasure.

VARRO:

Please, we will stand here and wait for your instructions.

BRUTUS:

I will not have it so. Lie down, good sirs.
It may be I shall otherwise bethink me.(285)

[Varro and Claudio lie down.]

Look, Lucius, here's the book I sought for so;
I put it in the pocket of my gown.

BRUTUS:

I don’t want that; lie down, good sirs.
It may be I shall change my mind.—

Look, Lucius, here's the book I was looking for;
I put it in the pocket of my gown.

LUCIUS:

I was sure your lordship did not give it me.

LUCIUS:

I was sure your lordship didn’t give it me.

BRUTUS:

Bear with me, good boy, I am much forgetful.
Canst thou hold up thy heavy eyes a while,(290)
And touch thy instrument a strain or two?

BRUTUS:

Be patient with me, good boy, I’m very forgetful.
Can you keep your heavy eyes open awhile,
And play a song or two on your harp?

LUCIUS:

Ay, my lord, an't please you.

LUCIUS:

Yes, my lord, if it pleases you.

BRUTUS:

It does, my boy.
I trouble thee too much, but thou art willing.

BRUTUS:

It does, my boy.
I bother you too much, but you’re willing.

LUCIUS:

It is my duty, sir.(295)

LUCIUS:

It is my duty, sir.

BRUTUS:

I should not urge thy duty past thy might;
I know young bloods look for a time of rest.

BRUTUS:

I shouldn’t make you do your duty past your strength;
I know young bloods look for time of rest.

LUCIUS:

I have slept, my lord, already.

LUCIUS:

I have already slept, my lord.

BRUTUS:

It was well done, and thou shalt sleep again;
I will not hold thee long. If I do live,(300)
I will be good to thee.

Music, and a song.

This is a sleepy tune. O murderous slumber,
Layest thou thy leaden mace upon my boy

[Lucius falls asleep]

That plays thee music? Gentle knave, good night.
I will not do thee so much wrong to wake thee.(305)
If thou dost nod, thou break'st thy instrument;
I'll take it from thee; and, good boy, good night.
Let me see, let me see; is not the leaf turn'd down
Where I left reading? Here it is, I think.

Enter the Ghost of Caesar.

How ill this taper burns! Ha, who comes here?(310)
I think it is the weakness of mine eyes
That shapes this monstrous apparition.
It comes upon me. Art thou any thing?
Art thou some god, some angel, or some devil
That makest my blood cold, and my hair to stare?(315)
Speak to me what thou art.

BRUTUS:

You did well, and you shall sleep again;
I’ll not keep you long. If I live,
I’ll be good to you.—

This is a sleepy tune.—O murderous Slumber,
Do you lay your leaden club on my boy
That plays music for you?—Gentle knave, good night;
I won’t do you so much wrong as to wake you up.
If you nod, you’ll break your harp;
I'll take it from you, and, good boy, good night.
—Let me see, let me see; isn’t the page turned down
Where I left reading? Here it is, I think.

How badly this candle burns! Ha! Who’s coming here?
I think it is the weakness of my eyes
That sees this monstrous ghost.
It comes to me.—Are you anything?
Are you some god, some angel, or some devil,
That makes my blood cold and my hair to stand on end?
Tell what you are.

GHOST:

Thy evil spirit, Brutus.

GHOST:

Your evil spirit, Brutus.

BRUTUS:

Why comest thou?

BRUTUS:

Why do you come?

GHOST:

To tell thee thou shalt see me at Philippi.

GHOST:

To tell you that you shall see me at Philippi.

BRUTUS:

Well, then I shall see thee again?(320)

BRUTUS:

Well; then I shall see you again?

GHOST:

Ay, at Philippi.

GHOST:

Yes, at Philippi.

BRUTUS:

Why, I will see thee at Philippi then.

[Exit Ghost.]

Now I have taken heart thou vanishest.
Ill spirit, I would hold more talk with thee.
Boy, Lucius! Varro! Claudius! Sirs, awake!(325)
Claudius!

BRUTUS:

Why, I’ll see you at Philippi, then.

Now I feel better, you have vanished.
Evil spirit, I would like to talk more with you.—
Boy! Lucius!—Varro! Claudius! Sirs, wake up!—Claudius!

LUCIUS:

The strings, my lord, are false.

LUCIUS:

The strings, my lord, are false.

BRUTUS:

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

BRUTUS:

He thinks he is still playing his harp.—
Lucius, wake up!

LUCIUS:

My lord?(330)

LUCIUS:

My lord?

BRUTUS:

Didst thou dream, Lucius, that thou so criedst out?

BRUTUS:

Were you dreaming, Lucius, that you cried out like that?

LUCIUS:

My lord, I do not know that I did cry.

LUCIUS:

My lord, I don’t know that I did cry.

BRUTUS:

Yes, that thou didst. Didst thou see any thing?

BRUTUS:

Yes, you did. Did you see anything?

LUCIUS:

Nothing, my lord.

LUCIUS:

Nothing, my lord.

BRUTUS:

Sleep again, Lucius. Sirrah Claudius!(335)

[To Varro.]

Fellow thou, awake!

BRUTUS:

Sleep again, Lucius.—Servant Claudius!—

Fellow you, wake up!

VARRO:

My lord?

VARRO:

My lord?

CLAUDIUS:

My lord?

CLAUDIUS:

My lord?

BRUTUS:

Why did you so cry out, sirs, in your sleep?

BRUTUS:

Sirs, why did you cry out like that your sleep?

VARRO AND CLAUDIUS:

Did we, my lord?(340)

VARRO AND CLAUDIUS:

Did we, my lord?

BRUTUS:

Ay, saw you any thing?

BRUTUS:

Yes. Did you see anything?

VARRO:

No, my lord, I saw nothing.

VARRO:

No, my lord, I saw nothing.

CLAUDIUS:

Nor I, my lord.

CLAUDIUS:

Nor I, my lord.

BRUTUS:

Go and commend me to my brother Cassius;
Bid him set on his powers betimes before,(345)
And we will follow.

BRUTUS:

Go and commend me to my brother Cassius;
Ask him to start moving his troops, while
There is yet time. And we will follow.