And the wind brings it from the Capitol. Luc. Sooth, madam, I hear nothing. Enter the Soothsayer. Por. Come hither, fellow: which way hast thou been? Sooth. At mine own house, good lady. Por. What is 't a clock? Sooth. 20 About the ninth hour, lady. 25 Por. Is Cæsar yet gone to the Capitol? Sooth. Madam, not yet: I go to take my stand, To see him pass on to the Capitol. Por. Thou hast some suit to Cæsar, hast thou not? To be so good to Cæsar as to hear me: I shall beseech him to befriend himself. 30 Por. Why, know'st thou any harm's intended towards him? Sooth. None that I know will be, much that I fear may chance. 23. a clock] Ff, o'clock Theobald and later editors. 28, 29. lady, if... me:] Ff, lady. If... me, Johnson and later editors. rumour" or "bustling rumour," what Portia means to express is the noise of an excited multitude heard indistinctly in the distance as "the noise and rumour of the field," King John, v. iv. 45. In both passages the poet has chosen words the sound of which is echo to the sense. 20. nothing] there was really nothing to hear, as Cæsar had not yet gone to the Capitol. 23. a clock] See note on ii. 114. 28. That I have] Nevertheless in ⚫he next scene he makes no attempt to present or pretend to present a suit to Cæsar. It is Artemidorus who does so, in accordance with his resolve expressed in iii, 12, This gives some plausibility to Tyrwhitt's substitution of Artemidorus for the soothsayer in this scene. On the other hand, Artemidorus, who wished to warn Cæsar expressly against Brutus, would not be likely to reveal so plainly to the wife of Brutus his intention of warning Cæsar. 28-30.] Most editors alter the punctuation, so that there may be a true consequent to the conditional clause. The reading of the Folio may, however, be retained, as the irregularity it involves is common in Shakespeare (see note on i. 318, 319) and in ordinary conversation. 31. harm's intended] harm that is intended. Compare ii. 16. 35 [Exit. Good morrow to you. Here the street is narrow: The throng that follows Cæsar at the heels, Of senators, of prætors, common suitors, Will crowd a feeble man almost to death: I'll get me to a place more void, and there Speak to great Cæsar as he comes along. Por. I must go in. Ay me! how weak a thing The heart of woman is. O Brutus ! The heavens speed thee in thine enterprise. [Aside.] Sure, the boy heard me. Brutus hath a suit That Cæsar will not grant. [Aside.] O! I grow faint. Run, Lucius, and commend me to my lord; Say I am merry: come to me again, And bring me word what he doth say to thee. 37. more void] less crowded. 42. Sure, the boy heard me] She fears that Lucius may have overheard her remark and guessed her secret, and therefore makes mention of Brutus's suit to Cæsar to explain her anxiety. 45. Say I am merry] She sends this message in order that her husband's 40 45 ACT III SCENE I.-Rome. Before the Capitol; the Senate sitting above. A crowd of People; among them ARTEMIDORUS and the Soothsayer. Flourish. Enter CESAR, BRUTUS, CASSIUS, CASCA, DECIUS, METELLUS, TREBONIUS, CINNA, ANTONY, LEPIDUS, POPILIUS, PUBLIUS, and Others. Cas. [To the Soothsayer.] The ides of March are come. Sooth. Ay, Cæsar; but not gone. Art. Hail, Cæsar! Read this schedule. Dec. Trebonius doth desire you to o'er-read, 5 At your best leisure, this his humble suit. Art. O Cæsar! read mine first; for mine's a suit That touches Cæsar nearer. Read it, great Cæsar. Cas. What touches us ourself, shall be last serv'd. Art. Delay not, Cæsar; read it instantly. Cas. What is the fellow mad? Pub. Sirrah, give place. ΙΟ Cas. What! urge you your petitions in the street? Come to the Capitol. 1. The ides of March] a reference to the soothsayer's warning in I. ii. 18. 8. ourself] A king in Shakespeare speaking of himself in the plural number employs the singular "self" -e.g., Richard II. 1. iv. 42: "We will ourself in person to this war.' But Tennyson in the Princess makes a king say, "We remember love ourselves in our sweet youth." 8. serv'd] attended to. As the verb 66 serve " in this sense properly governs persons, Craik adopts here the correction of Collier's MS. : "That touches us? Ourself shall be last served," which is supported by its similarity to Timon, 1. ii. 183: "Flav. Vouchsafe me a word; it doth concern you near. Tim. Near? Why then another time I'll hear thee." CESAR goes up to the Senate-House, the rest following. All the Senators rise. Pop. I wish your enterprise to-day may thrive. Cas. He wish'd to-day our enterprise might thrive. Bru. Look, how he makes to Cæsar: mark him. Brutus, what shall be done? If this be known, 20 Cassius or Cæsar never shall turn back, For I will slay myself. Bru. Cassius, be constant: Popilius Lena speaks not of our purposes; For, look, he smiles, and Cæsar doth not change. Cas. Trebonius knows his time; for, look you, Brutus, 25 He draws Mark Antony out of the way. [Exeunt Antony and Trebonius. Cæsar and the Senators take their seats. Dec. Where is Metellus Cimber? Let him go, And presently prefer his suit to Cæsar. 20. done? If. . . known,] Ff, done, if known? Theobald. 15. Lena] He is called Læna by Plutarch. His real name was Lænas. 18. makes to] goes towards. Compare v. i. 25 and the quotation from Tennyson on I. ii. 15. 21. turn back] return from the Capitol. 22. constant] See note on II. i. 227. 24. doth not change] sc. his counten ance, i.e. he shows that he is not deeply affected by what he has just heard from Popilius Lena. 26. He draws, etc.] This is in accordance with Plutarch's Life of Brutus. In the Life of Cæsar it is Decius Brutus who keeps Antony out of the way. 28. presently] immediately. Bru. He is address'd; press near and second him. 30 That Cæsar and his senate must redress? Met. Most high, most mighty, and most puissant Cæsar, Metellus Cimber throws before thy seat Cæs. An humble heart, [Kneeling. 39. law] Johnson, lane Ff, play Mason. oath Were all address'd to meet you, 30. rears] We should expect "that rear your "that or rears his." For the confusion of numbers and persons in relative clauses, compare Titus Andronicus, IV. ii. 176: For it is you that puts us to our shifts," and other passages quoted by Abbott in sec. 247, which justify him in say ing that "the relative was often regarded like a noun by nature third person singular, and therefore uninfluenced by the antecedent." 31. Are we all ready?] can we now proceed to business? Collier's MS. annotator gives this question to Casca, whom it apparently suits better. There is, however, dramatic irony in the remark if uttered by Cæsar, as the conspirators and the audience would apply his words to the preparations for his assassination. 34. Metellus Cimber] See note on I. iii. 134. 36. couchings] altered in Collier's MS. into "crouchings." The altera Be not fond, tion seems unnecessary, as "couching" expresses the attitude of humble supplication as well as "crouching " does. Murray quotes from Royster Doyster, "Couch on your marrowbones," and from Campion, A lady of such part, that all estates of the realm couched unto her.' Even if "couch necessarily implied "lying on the ground," it would be no stronger than Homer's προπροκυλινδομevos (Iliad, xxii. 221). 38. pre ordinance] and "first decree are equivalent terms, expressing a decree already made. See line 44. This is, however, a curious use of "first." Craik plausibly sug gests "fixed decree." 39. the law of children] such variable and capricious laws as children would make, or, perhaps, the variability which is the law of the nature of children, their natural characteristic. If the latter interpretation is right, there is a play on the two meanings of "law" and "ordinance, "ordinance being used in line 38 in the sense of human law, while in line 39 "law" means "natural quality prescribed by the law of nature as "ordinance does in I. |
