University of Virginia Library

ACT THE FIFTH.

The Scene is in the Basilica of Pompey.

SCENE THE FIRST.

Brutus, Cassius, Senators, who in succession take their Places.
Cas.
It seems to me this meeting will be small;
Much smaller than the last ...

Bru.
Provided that
The hearts of the remainder be but firm,
'Tis all we want.

Cas.
Dost thou, oh Brutus, hear
How the unquiet people with their cries
Already make the deafening air resound?

Bru.
Their cries they vary at each new event:
Leave them; e'en they perchance to-day may help us.

Cas.
I never saw thee calm as thou art now,
And so secure.

Bru.
The danger spreads.

Cas.
Oh Brutus! ...
Brutus, I yield to thee alone.

Bru.
Great Pompey,
Who breathes in sculptured marble here, and seems
Now to preside o'er few partizans,
Makes me secure as to th'approaching danger.

Cas.
Behold, the lictors of the tyrant coming.

Bru.
Casca and Cimber, where?

Cas.
Fiercely they have
Forestall'd by violence the post of danger ...
They closely follow Cæsar.

Bru.
Hast thou thought
To hinder, that the impious Anthony? ...

Cas.
Yes: Fulvius and Macrinus will at length
Keep him at bay at distance from the senate;
If it be also needful t'intercept him,
This will they do by force.

Bru.
Now all is well.
Let each one take his place—Cassius, farewell.
We from each other separate as slaves;
Soon, as free men, I hope, we shall embrace,
Or dying.—First shalt thou be witness here
To the last efforts of a son; and then
To the last efforts of a citizen.

Cas.
Each weapon on thy nod depends, oh Brutus!

SCENE THE SECOND.

Senators seated. Brutus and Cassius in their places. Cæsar, preceded by Lictors, which afterwards leave him; Casca, Cimber, and many others, follow him. All rise at the entrance of Cæsar, and continue standing till he be seated.
Cæ.
What can this mean? Scarce half the senate here,
Although th'appointed hour be past. ... But I
Beyond my duty have in this transgress'd.—
Ye conscript fathers, I lament that thus
I have detain'd you ... But yet, what can be
The cause that takes from me so many of you?

(UNIVERSAL SILENCE)
Bru.
Does no one answer? The demanded cause
Is known to all of us. Is it not, Cæsar,
Fully divulged to thee by this our silence
But, would'st thou hear it? Those whom thou seest here,
Terror collected; those whom thou seest not,
Terror dispersed.

Cæ.
I am not unaccustom'd
To the intemperate harangues of Brutus,
As to the generous clemency of Cæsar
Thou art not unaccustom'd. But in vain;
For here I came not to dispute ...

Bru.
Nor we
To offend thee idly. Certainly those fathers
Were ill-advised who vanish'd from the senate
On such a joyful day: and ill act those
Who in the senate now stand mute. Myself,
Fully apprized of the high sentiments
Which Cæsar purposes t'unfold to us,
Can scarce restrain th'expression of my joy;
Feeling the eager wish to dissipate
The false alarm of others. Ah! no, now
Cæsar doth not within his bosom cherish
Against his country any guilty purpose;
Ah no! that generous clemency of his,
With which to-day he has upbraided Brutus,
And which in future he ought not to exert
Towards me, to trembling and afflicted Rome
He hath directed all of it already.
To-day, I swear to you, that Cæsar adds
A new one, and the most sublime of all,
To his so many triumphs; thence he here
Presents himself the victor of himself,
And of the envy of his adversaries.
Yes, noble fathers, this I swear to you;
Cæsar to-day assembles you to this
His sublime triumph: he has now resolved
To recreate himself th'associate,
The equal of his fellow-citizens;
This would he do spontaneously; and hence
'Mid all the men that have been in the world,
There never was, nor will be, Cæsar's equal.

Cæ.
I might, oh Brutus, interrupt thy speech ...

Bru.
Nor let mine seem to you rash arrogance,
Scarcely a prætor that I should presume
To anticipate the words of the dictator,
For Brutus now and the illustrious Cæsar
Are but one person.—I behold your brows
Arch'd with amazement: to the senators
My language is obscure; but speedily,
I shall make all clear with a single word.
I am the son of Cæsar ...

(AN UNIVERSAL CRY OF ASTONISHMENT.)
Bru.
Yes; I am born from him; now do I thence
Light exultation feel; since to-day Cæsar
Becomes, from a perpetual dictator,
A first-rate, and perpetual citizen.

(AN UNIVERSAL CRY OF JOY.)
Cæ.
... Yes, Brutus is my son; I myself told
Erewhile to him this secret. Th'energy,
The eloquence, the impetuosity,
I know not what of superhuman power
That breathes in his discourse, made on my heart
A deep impression: ardent, and aspiring,
My genuine son, is Brutus. Hence, oh Romans,
I chuse him, far more worthy than myself,
To perform for you after me that service,
Which now no longer lies within my power:
I have decided to transfer to him
My whole authority; in him have I
Establish'd it: in him will ye have Cæsar ...

Bru.
I stand secure: not Brutus' enemies
The most embitter'd and implacable,
Much more his friends, then, never will believe him
Of this e'er capable; ah no!—To me,
Cæsar, oh Romans, yields his power: he would
Imply by this, that Cæsar abdicates,
At the entreaties of myself his son,
His unjust power, that he replaces Rome
In liberty for ever.

(AN UNIVERSAL CRY OF JOY.)
Cæ.
'Tis enough.—
Thou as my son, and younger than myself,
Shouldest keep silence in my presence.—Now,
Cæsar, oh fathers, speaks—I have resolved
Irrevocably in my secret thoughts
To go against the Parthians. To-morrow
I march against Asia with my faithful legions:
There have I long been summon'd, and by force
Constrain'd to go, by th'unavenged shade
Of Crassus. Rome I leave to Anthony;
In him let her behold a second Cæsar:
Let Cimber, Casca, Cassius now return
To their allotted prefectures: my side
Brutus shall never quit. When I have slain
The enemies of Rome, I will return
And to my enemies submit myself:
Then, at her will, whichever she likes best,
Rome shall possess me as her citizen,
As her dictator, or discard me quite.

(UNIVERSAL SILENCE.)
Bru.
—These were not certainly, which we have heard,
The accents of a Roman, of my father,
Nor e'en of Cæsar. These were the harsh words
Of a despotic king.—Ah! father, yet
Hear me once more; behold my tears, and hear
Th'entreaties of a son and citizen
Now all Rome by my mouth addresses thee.
Behold that Brutus, whom no man e'er saw
Hitherto weep or supplicate; behold him
Prostrate before thee. Would'st thou be to me,
And not to Rome, a father?

Cæ.
I will not
Listen to prayers which are a public insult.
Arise: be mute.—He dares to call me tyrant;
But I am not one: if I were, had I
Myself permitted him to offer me
Such gross indignities before all Rome?—
What the dictator in his mind hath fix'd,
Should all be executed. Thus commands
The interest of Rome; and every man
Who doubts now, or refuses to obey me,
Is th'enemy of Rome; hostile to her,
He is an impious traitor.

Bru.
Then let all
Of us now, as true citizens should do,
Obey the dictator.

Cim.
Die, tyrant, die!

Cas.
And may I smite him also!

Cæ.
Traitors ...

Bru.
Ah!
And must I be the only one to spare him? ...

Some Senators.
Die, let the tyrant die!

Other Senators
, flying.
Oh day of horrors!

Cæ.
Son, ... and thou too! ... I die ...

Bru.
Oh Rome! ... Oh father! ...

Cim.
But at the cries of the pale fugitives,
The people flock already in a crowd ...

Cas.
Let them come in; the tyrant is no more.
Let us now hasten to slay Anthony.

SCENE THE THIRD.

People, Brutus, Cæsar dead.
People.
What has now happen'd? What cries did we hear?
What blood is this? Ah Brutus yonder stands
Immoveable with his uplifted dagger!

Bru.
People of Mars, (if yet ye are so) thither,
Now thither turn your looks. Behold who lies
At mighty Pompey's feet ...

People.
Cæsar! Oh sight! ...
He in his blood immersed! ... oh rage!

Bru.
Yes, Cæsar
Lies in his blood immersed: and I, though ye
See in my hand a blade not stain'd with blood,
I too, with others, I too slaughter'd Cæsar ...

People.
Ah traitor! thou shalt die ...

Bru.
Already, see,
The weapon's point is turn'd towards my breast.
I mean to die: but listen to me first.

People.
Let those be murder'd first who transfix'd Cæsar ...

Bru.
Ye seek in vain for other murderers:
Dispersed amid the fluctuating crowd
The assassins have already disappear'd.
Save Brutus, 'tis in vain for ye to seek
Another murderer. If ye are impell'd
By fury here, thirsting t'avenge the death
Of the dictator, let the life of Brutus
Now pacify your vengeance.—But, if yet
The name of true and sacred liberty
Reverberates in your hearts, and in your souls,
Open your breasts t'unutterable joy:
There he lies dead, there he lies dead at last,
The king of Rome.

People.
What is it that thou sayest?

Bru.
The king of Rome, yes, I confirm it to you,
And swear that he was such: he was a king:
Such he spoke here; and such he shew'd himself,
During the Lupercalia, to yourselves,
That day, when he feigning the guilty crown
Was his abhorrence, three times made the hand
Of Anthony refit it on his head.
The infamous collusion pleased you not;
And he became convinced by certain proof,
That, save by force, he ne'er would be a king.
Hence, he would now have left Rome for the camp,
Planning new wars, while she is quite exhausted
Of men and arms and treasures; certain hence
By dint of arms here to return a king,
And make you with harsh penalties repent
The interdicted crown. Gold, flatteries, games,
Banquets, and spectacles, he lavish'd on you,
To make you slaves: but th'impious attempt
Was ineffectual; Romans, ye sell not
Your liberty; and yet I see you all
Ready to die for it: and I am also,
I, yes, as much as you. Rome now is free;
Brutus would now die satisfied. Be quick;
And sacrifice him who restores to you
Life, liberty, and virtue; yes, do ye
Sacrifice Brutus to avenge your king.
Behold my breast defenceless ... let him kill me
Who still would be a slave. But he ought now
Who will not murder me, to follow me,
And terminate the enterprize by force.

People.
What words are these? A god inspires him.

Bru.
Ah!
I see the former parasites of Cæsar
Become by little and by little Romans.
Now hear if Brutus also be a Roman—
Are there among you who have hitherto
E'en ever dreamt of that which I am now
About to tell you with a solemn oath.—
The tyrant Cæsar was my real father.

People.
Oh heaven! What is it that thou tellest us? ...

Bru.
I am the son of Cæsar; this I swear;
He himself yesterday reveal'd to me
The secret, and I swear to you, he wish'd
To leave me, pledge of his paternal love,
As if it were his proper heritage,
Tranquil and undisputed, wish'd one day
To leave me, his authority in Rome.

People.
Oh vile audacity ...

Bru.
And thence he dared
Discover all his guilty views to me ...

People.
Then (ah too certainly!) he did design
At length to shew himself a thorough tyrant ...

Bru.
I, as a son, wept, and entreated him;
And lastly, as a citizen, conjured him
T'abandon th'infamous design: ah! what
Did I not do, to change him from a king? ...
I e'en entreated from him as a gift
Death; which from his hands I should more have prized
Than all his surreptitious royalty:
But all in vain: in his tyrannical breast
He had resolved to reign, or die. I then
The signal gave to kill him; I gave it
Myself to a firm few: meanwhile on high
I raised my trembling and suspended arm.

People.
Oh pristine virtue! oh true Brutus!

Bru.
Yes;
The king of Rome is slain; for this should we
Pay homage to the gods: but yet has Brutus
Slain his own father; ... and he merits death
From you. And think ye I would live? ... I ought
For a few instants still, while I exert
Myself with you to give security
To Rome's regenerated commonwealth:
The lofty duties yet must be fulfill'd
Of citizen, and of deliverer;
For these alone Brutus consents to live:
But a high obligation also dooms
The impious and parricidal son
Of the great Cæsar t'immolate himself,
With his own hands, upon his father's tomb.

People.
Oh dire event! ... Amazement, terror, pity; ...
Oh, what a multitude of impulses
Have we at once experienced! ... But ... oh sight!
E'en in the midst of rage, Brutus himself
Also dissolves in tears ...

Bru.
—I weep, oh Romans;
I weep for Cæsar dead. Sublime endowments
Not to be equall'd in the world; a soul,
Which never had its counterpart, had Cæsar:
Base is that heart which weeps not for him dead.—
But, who dare now again to wish him living
Is not a Roman.

People.
Thine are words of fire,
Oh Brutus ...

Bru.
May yours then be deeds of fire;
The deed is lofty; worthy of ourselves;
Follow my steps; and let us now restore
Full and eternal liberty to Rome.

People.
For Rome, ah! yes, following thy steps we're ready
For all; for any thing ...

Bru.
Make speed then, now
Let us go quickly to the Capitol;
This is the seat sacred to liberty:
Would ye now leave it in the hands of traitors?

People.
Let us depart: and wrest from traitors' hands
The sacred citadel.

Bru.
To death, to death
Or freedom let us go!

People.
To death, to death
With Brutus, or to freedom we depart.