I slew the coward, and did take it from him. Tit. O Cassius! Brutus gave the word too early; Who, having some advantage on Octavius, Took it too eagerly: his soldiers fell to spoil, Whilst we by Antony are all enclos'd.

Enter PINDARUS.

Pin. Fly further off, my lord, fly further off;

Mark Antony is in your tents, my lord!
Fly, therefore, noble Cassius, fly far off.
Cas. This hill is far enough. Look, look, Titinius;
Are those my tents where I perceive the fire?
Tit. They are, my lord.

Cas.

5

ΙΟ

Titinius, if thou lov'st me,
Mount thou my horse, and hide thy spurs in him, 15
Till he have brought thee up to yonder troops

And here again; that I may rest assur'd
Whether yond troops are friend or enemy.

[Exit.

20

Tit. I will be here again, even with a thought.
Cas. Go, Pindarus, get higher on that hill;
My sight was ever thick; regard Titinius,
20. higher] F 1; thither F 2, 3, 4.
in this passage. If it means
"standard-bearer," then "it" in
the next line stands for the standard
suggested, but not expressed by the
word. If it means "standard," then
"the coward" is the cowardly stand-
ard-bearer implied in the standard
turning back. In the former case we
must understand from "this" that
Cassius points to the standard-bearer
lying dead at his feet. In the latter
case "this" indicates that Cassius
held the standard in his hand, or
rather that, as Plutarch records, he
had "stuck it fast at his feet."

19. even with a thought] as quick as thought. Compare Odyssey, vii. 36; Iliad, xv. 80, 82; Macbeth, III. iv. 55; and Beaumont and Fletcher's Bonduca, 1. i.:

"The light shadows

That in a thought scur o'er the fields of corn.

21. thick] dim. Compare Taming of the Shrew, v. ii. 143:

"Like a fountain troubled Muddy, ill-seeming, thick"; and "thick-eyed musing," 1 Henry IV. II. iii. 49. Plutarch says that

And tell me what thou not'st about the field.

[Pindarus ascends the hill.

This day I breathed first; time is come round,

And where I did begin, there shall I end;

My life is run his compass. Sirrah, what

news?

Pin. [Above.] O my lord!

Cas. What news?

Pin. Titinius is enclosed round about

25

With horsemen, that make to him on the spur;
Yet he spurs on: now they are almost on him. 30
Now, Titinius! now some light: O! he lights too:
He's ta'en!

And, hark! they shout for joy.
Cas. Come down; behold no more.

[Shout.

O! coward that I am, to live so long,

To see my best friend ta'en before my face.

Come hither, sirrah.

35

[Pindarus descends.

In Parthia did I take thee prisoner;

And then I swore thee, saving of thy life,
That whatsoever I did bid thee do,

"Cassius himself saw nothing, for his
sight was very bad."

23. I breathed first] See i. 72. 25. his compass] its complete course. For "his," see note on I. ii. 123. 25. Sirrah] This modification of sir is used in addressing inferiors, as in III. i. 10, IV. iii. 133.

31. Now, Titinius!] He means that now is the time for Titinius to turn and fly to his friends. He shows his intense interest in Titinius' movements by addressing him aloud, although his voice could not possibly be heard at such a distance.

34. O! coward that I am] "Desiring too much to live, I have lived to see one of my best friends taken" (Plutarch).

38. swore thee] made thee swear.

66

38. saving of thy life] Compare Lear, II. i. 41, Here stood he mumbling of wicked charms," and other instances given in Abbott, sec. 178. The participle is confused with and given the construction of a verbal noun. This is one of the many cases in which a Shakespearian usage survives as a vulgarism. Compare i. 60.

Thou should'st attempt it. Come now, keep thine oath;

Now be a freeman; and with this good sword,

40

That ran through Cæsar's bowels, search this bosom.
Stand not to answer; here, take thou the hilts;
And, when my face is cover'd, as 'tis now,

Guide thou the sword. Cæsar, thou art
reveng'd,

Even with the sword that kill'd thee.

Pin. So, I am free; yet would not so have been,
Durst I have done my will. O Cassius!
Far from this country Pindarus shall run,
Where never Roman shall take note of him.

45

[Dies.

50 [Exit.

Re-enter TITINIUS with MESSALA.

Mes. It is but change, Titinius; for Octavius
Is overthrown by noble Brutus' power,
As Cassius' legions are by Antony.

Tit. These tidings will well comfort Cassius.
Mes. Where did you leave him?

41. be a freeman] earn thy freedom by killing me. See 47.

42. ran through Casar's bowels] This poetical retribution comes from Plutarch, who relates that Cassius "slew himself with the same sword with the which he strake Cæsar." We may say of Cassius' death, as Othello does of what he thought a similarly exact retribution, "Good, good; the justice of it pleases; very good" (Othello, IV. i. 222). Plutarch relates that Callipus, who plotted the murder of Dion, was slain with the very same sword with which Dion had been assassinated.

43. hilts] Compare v. 28. The plural is used because the handle of a single sword consists of many parts.

44. when my face is cover'd] See note on III. ii. 194.

49. Pindarus shall run] After that time Pindarus was seen no more. Whereupon some took occasion to say that he had slain his master without his commandment" (Plutarch).

51. change] exchange, as opposed to distinct gain for either side. The victory of Brutus could be set against the victory of Antony.

55

Tit.

All disconsolate,

With Pindarus his bondman, on this hill. Mes. Is not that he that lies upon the ground? Tit. He lies not like the living. O my heart! Mes. Is not that he?

Tit.

No, this was he, Messala,
But Cassius is no more. O setting sun!

60

As in thy red rays thou dost sink to night,
So in his red blood Cassius' day is set;
The sun of Rome is set. Our day is gone;

Clouds, dews, and dangers come; our deeds are done.

65.

Mistrust of my success hath done this deed. Mes. Mistrust of good success hath done this deed. O hateful error, melancholy's child! Why dost thou show to the apt thoughts of men The things that are not? O error! soon conceiv'd, Thou never com'st unto a happy birth, But kill'st the mother that engender'd thee.

59. this was he] For the use of the past tense, compare -Eneid, ii. 325 : "Fuimus Troes, fuit Ilium."

60. O setting sun!] This address to the setting sun is quite inconsistent with line 109, in which we learn that it is only three o'clock in the afternoon.

61. sink to night] descend into the darkness of night. There is some confusion of ideas in the image, as wherever the sun goes there can be no night. This confusion is avoided by Knight, who reads "to-night," but the alteration weakens the force of

the line.

62. So in his red blood] For the comparison of a dying warrior to the setting sun, compare Troilus and Cressida, v. viii. 5-8, and Rokeby, VI. xxi. 19-26.

70

Tit. What, Pindarus! Where art thou, Pindarus?

Mes. Seek him, Titinius, whilst I go to meet

The noble Brutus, thrusting this report

Into his ears; I may say, thrusting it;
For piercing steel and darts envenomed
Shall be as welcome to the ears of Brutus
As tidings of this sight.

75

Tit.

Hie you, Messala,
And I will seek for Pindarus the while.

[Exit Messala.

80

Why didst thou send me forth, brave Cassius ?
Did I not meet thy friends? and did not they
Put on my brows this wreath of victory,

And bid me give it thee? Didst thou not hear their
shouts ?

Alas! thou hast misconstrued every thing.

But hold thee, take this garland on thy brow;

85

Thy Brutus bid me give it thee, and I

Will do his bidding. Brutus, come apace,
And see how I regarded Caius Cassius.
By your leave, gods: this is a Roman's part:
Come, Cassius' sword, and find Titinius' heart.

72. What] See note on II. i. I. 74. thrusting] Compare Antony and Cleopatra, II v. 24.

85. hold thee] hold thou, i.e. do thou receive. The subject takes the objective form, because it follows the verb and has the usual place of the object. Compare "Hold thee, there's my purse" (All's Well, iv. v. 46), "Come thee on" (Antony and Cleo patra, IV. vii. 16), "hark thee,' "haste thee," "look thee," and "fare thee well" (99).

90

[Kills himself.

88. regarded] honoured, as in Coriolanus, v. vi. 143.

89. By your leave, gods] In accordance with the Platonic view referred to in i. 101, Titinius implies that he cannot voluntarily depart from life without the permission of the gods.

89. a Roman's part] Compare Macbeth, v. viii. I:

"Why should I play the Roman fool, and die

On mine own sword?"