The plains of Philippi. Enter OCTAVIUS, ANTONY, and their army OCTAVIUS Now, Antony, our hopes are answered:
You said the enemy would not come down,
But keep
the hills and upper regions;
It proves not so: their battles are at hand;
They mean to warn us at Philippi
here,
Answering before we do demand of them. ANTONY Tut, I am in their bosoms, and I know
Wherefore they do it: they could be content
To visit other
places; and come down
With fearful bravery, thinking by this face
To fasten in our thoughts that they have
courage;
But 'tis not so.
Enter a Messenger Messenger Prepare you, generals:
The enemy comes on in gallant show;
Their bloody sign of battle is hung
out,
And something to be done immediately. ANTONY Octavius, lead your battle softly on,
Upon the left hand of the even field. OCTAVIUS Upon the right hand I; keep thou the left. ANTONY Why do you cross me in this exigent? OCTAVIUS I do not cross you; but I will do so.
March Drum. Enter BRUTUS, CASSIUS, and their Army; LUCILIUS, TITINIUS, MESSALA, and others BRUTUS They stand, and would have parley. CASSIUS Stand fast, Titinius: we must out and talk. OCTAVIUS Mark Antony, shall we give sign of battle? ANTONY No, Caesar, we will answer on their charge.
Make forth; the generals would have some words.
OCTAVIUS Stir not until the signal. BRUTUS Words before blows: is it so, countrymen? OCTAVIUS Not that we love words better, as you do. BRUTUS Good words are better than bad strokes, Octavius. ANTONY In your bad strokes, Brutus, you give good words:
Witness the hole you made in Caesar's heart,
Crying
'Long live! hail, Caesar!' CASSIUS Antony,
The posture of your blows are yet unknown;
But for your words, they rob the Hybla bees,
And
leave them honeyless. ANTONY Not stingless too. BRUTUS O, yes, and soundless too;
For you have stol'n their buzzing, Antony,
And very wisely threat
before you sting. ANTONY Villains, you did not so, when your vile daggers
Hack'd one another in the sides of Caesar:
You
show'd your teeth like apes, and fawn'd like hounds,
And bow'd like bondmen, kissing Caesar's feet;
Whilst
damned Casca, like a cur, behind
Struck Caesar on the neck. O you flatterers! CASSIUS Flatterers! Now, Brutus, thank yourself:
This tongue had not offended so to-day,
If Cassius might
have ruled. OCTAVIUS Come, come, the cause: if arguing make us sweat,
The proof of it will turn to redder drops. Look;
I
draw a sword against conspirators;
When think you that the sword goes up again?
Never, till Caesar's
three and thirty wounds
Be well avenged; or till another Caesar
Have added slaughter to the sword of
traitors. BRUTUS Caesar, thou canst not die by traitors' hands,
Unless thou bring'st them with thee.
OCTAVIUS So I hope;
I was not born to die on Brutus' sword. BRUTUS O, if thou wert the noblest of thy strain,
Young man, thou couldst not die more honourable. CASSIUS A peevish schoolboy, worthless of such honour,
Join'd with a masker and a reveller! ANTONY Old Cassius still! OCTAVIUS Come, Antony, away!
Defiance, traitors, hurl we in your teeth:
If you dare fight to-day, come to
the field;
If not, when you have stomachs.
Exeunt OCTAVIUS, ANTONY, and their army CASSIUS Why, now, blow wind, swell billow and swim bark!
The storm is up, and all is on the hazard. BRUTUS Ho, Lucilius! hark, a word with you. LUCILIUS Standing forth My lord?
BRUTUS and LUCILIUS converse apart CASSIUS Messala! MESSALA Standing forth What says my general? CASSIUS Messala,
This is my birth-day; as this very day
Was Cassius born. Give me thy hand, Messala:
Be
thou my witness that against my will,
As Pompey was, am I compell'd to set
Upon one battle all our liberties.
You
know that I held Epicurus strong
And his opinion: now I change my mind,
And partly credit things that do
presage.
Coming from Sardis, on our former ensign
Two mighty eagles fell, and there they perch'd,
Gorging
and feeding from our soldiers' hands;
Who to Philippi here consorted us:
This morning are they fled away
and gone;
And in their steads do ravens, crows and kites,
Fly o'er our heads and downward look on us,
As
we were sickly prey: their shadows seem
A canopy most fatal, under which
Our army lies, ready to give up
the ghost. MESSALA
Believe not so. CASSIUS I but believe it partly;
For I am fresh of spirit and resolved
To meet all perils very constantly. BRUTUS Even so, Lucilius. CASSIUS Now, most noble Brutus,
The gods to-day stand friendly, that we may,
Lovers in peace, lead on
our days to age!
But since the affairs of men rest still incertain,
Let's reason with the worst that may befall.
If
we do lose this battle, then is this
The very last time we shall speak together:
What are you then determined
to do? BRUTUS Even by the rule of that philosophy
By which I did blame Cato for the death
Which he did give
himself, I know not how,
But I do find it cowardly and vile,
For fear of what might fall, so to prevent
The
time of life: arming myself with patience
To stay the providence of some high powers
That govern us below. CASSIUS Then, if we lose this battle,
You are contented to be led in triumph
Thorough the streets of Rome? BRUTUS No, Cassius, no: think not, thou noble Roman,
That ever Brutus will go bound to Rome;
He bears
too great a mind. But this same day
Must end that work the ides of March begun;
And whether we shall
meet again I know not.
Therefore our everlasting farewell take:
For ever, and for ever, farewell, Cassius!
If
we do meet again, why, we shall smile;
If not, why then, this parting was well made. CASSIUS For ever, and for ever, farewell, Brutus!
If we do meet again, we'll smile indeed;
If not, 'tis true
this parting was well made. BRUTUS Why, then, lead on. O, that a man might know
The end of this day's business ere it come!
But it
sufficeth that the day will end,
And then the end is known. Come, ho! away!
Exeunt
Next: Act 5 Scene 2
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