Rome. BRUTUS's orchard.
Enter BRUTUS
BRUTUS Hey, Lucius, are you there?
I cannot tell, by the position of the stars, How close to daybreak it is.
Lucius, can you hear me? I wish that my weakness was to sleep so soundly.
Come on, Lucius, come on! Wake up, I say! Come on, Lucius!
Enter LUCIUS
LUCIUS Did you call, my lord?
BRUTUS
Put a candle in my study for me, Lucius; When it is lit, come and call me.
LUCIUS I will, my lord.
Exit
BRUTUS Caesar must be put to death; and for my part,
I have no self-interested reason to kick against him,
But for the common political good. — He wants to be crowned.
How would being king change his nature, that is the question.
Favourable conditions can bring out the hidden evil in people,
just as sunny days bring out poisonous adders, And that requires us to walk
carefully. If we crown him, Then, I admit, we would be putting venom in him
Which he could use, at will, to do harm. The abuse of power happens when it separates
Compassion from power; and speaking honestly about Caesar,
I have not known him to be swayed by his emotions Rather than his judgement. But it is
a matter of common knowledge, That humility is the ladder of
ambition by which a young man, Climbs upwards, towards power;
But when he gets to the highest rung, He then turns his back on his ladder of support,
Reaches for the skies, while scorning the lower rungs and the people
Who helped him to get there: Caesar may become like that;
Therefore, in case he does, we must prevent him by taking anticipatory action.
And since the accusation Carries no validity considering
what Caesar is at this moment, Let us put the case in this way:
that if he is promoted, He would resort to such tyrannical extremes;
And therefore, we should think of him as a serpent’s egg
Which, when it has hatched, would, like all poisonous snakes, become dangerous,
And so, we must kill him while he is still in the shell.
Re-enter LUCIUS
LUCIUS The candle is burning in your study, sir.
While I was looking on the windowsill for a flint, I found
This paper, sealed up like this; and I am sure It was not there when I went to bed.
Gives him the letter
BRUTUS Go back to bed,
as it isn’t daybreak yet. Is tomorrow the 15th March, boy?
LUCIUS I don’t know, sir.
BRUTUS Have a look at the calendar and let me know.
LUCIUS I will, sir.
Exit Lucius
BRUTUS The meteors, whizzing through the air,
Give off so much light that I can read by them.
Opens the letter and reads
Brutus, you are sleeping: wake up and look at yourself.
Is Rome going to, etc. Speak, strike, put things right.
‘Brutus, you are sleeping: wake up.’ Such promptings to action have often been dropped
Where I would find them. ‘Is Rome going to, etc.’ I must
try to understand what this means: Is Rome going to stand in
awe of one man? What, Rome? My ancestors, from the streets of Rome,
Drove out Tarquin, when he was pronounced a king. ‘Speak, strike,
put things right.’ Am I being urged To speak and strike? Oh, Rome, I promise you,
If things are going to be put right, you will receive
Your full request by the hand of Brutus.
Re-enter LUCIUS
LUCIUS Sir, we’re already fifteen days into March.
The sound of knocking offstage
BRUTUS That’s good. Go to the gate; somebody’s knocking.
Exit LUCIUS
Ever since Cassius began to turn me against Caesar,
I have not slept. Between the time
of carrying out a dreadful deed After the initial impulse, the interval is
Like a nightmare or a ghastly dream: The guiding spirit and the passions
Are then in consultation; and the condition of man,
Like a small kingdom, then suffers A kind of violent uprising.
Re-enter LUCIUS
LUCIUS Sir, it is your brother-in-law,
Cassius, at the door, Who wants to see you.
BRUTUS Is he alone?
LUCIUS No, sir. There are others with him.
BRUTUS Do you know who they are?
LUCIUS No, sir,
their hats are pulled down over their ears,
And half of their faces are covered by their cloaks,
So, there is no way I can identify them By their appearance.
BRUTUS Let them come in.
Exit LUCIUS
They are the faction that wants to kill Caesar. Oh conspiracy,
Are you ashamed to show your murderous face even at night,
When evil things most freely wander about? Well then, by day
Where will you find a cave dark enough
To hide your monstrous face? Don’t look for one, conspiracy;
Hide your monstrous face in smiles and friendliness:
For if you pursue your way, showing your true colours,
Even Hell itself would not be dark enough To keep you from being found and stopped.
Enter the conspirators, CASSIUS, CASCA, DECIUS BRUTUS, CINNA, METELLUS CIMBER, and TREBONIUS
CASSIUS
I think we are too bold, disturbing your sleep. Good morning, Brutus; are we bothering you?
BRUTUS I was awake already, awake all night.
Do I know these men who have come along with you?
CASSIUS Yes, every one of them;
and there’s not a man here Who doesn’t highly respect you;
and each one of them wishes You had as high an opinion of yourself
As every noble Roman has of you. This is Trebonius.
BRUTUS He is welcome here.
CASSIUS This is Decius Brutus.
BRUTUS He is welcome too.
CASSIUS This is Casca; this is
Cinna; and this is Metellus Cimber.
BRUTUS They are all welcome.
What worries have come between You and a good night’s sleep?
CASSIUS Can I have a word with you?
BRUTUS and CASSIUS whisper
DECIUS BRUTUS
Here is the east; isn’t this where daybreak occurs?
CASCA No.
CINNA: Oh,
excuse me, sir, it is; and those grey lines That interlace the clouds are signs of daybreak.
CASCA You shall admit
that you’re both wrong: (pointing his sword) Here, where I point my sword, the sun rises,
Which is noticeably encroaching on the south, Taking into consideration that it is still winter.
In about two months from now, further towards the north
The dawn will break; and due east Stands the Capitol, right here.
BRUTUS Give me
your hands all of you, one by one. (He shakes their hands)
CASSIUS And let us swear our resolution.
BRUTUS No, let’s not swear
an oath. If the expression on men’s faces, The suffering of our souls, the corruption
(by Caesar) in these days – Are not enough motivation for us,
let us break it off at once, And each of us return to his unslept- in bed;
Then we will allow this high-flying tyrant to proceed unchallenged
Until each one of us dies according to his chance displeasure. But if these reasons,
As I am convinced they do, carry enough fire To ignite cowards to action and inspire,
with great courage, The weakening spirits of women, then, countrymen,
Why do we need any encouragement, other than our own reasons
To spur us into action? What bond do we need other Than the fact that we are Romans who,
once we have given our word, can be trusted to hold our tongues.
And will not deceive? And what oath do we need other
Than words of honour exchanged That this shall happen, or we shall die trying?
Swearing is for priests and cowards and deceitful men,
Feeble old people and those long- suffering sorts Who welcome ill-treatment; for wrong reasons
Such untrustworthy people swear oaths; but do not spoil
The steadfast virtue of our mission, Nor the indomitable resilience of our spirits,
By thinking that our cause or our performance Need a binding oath; when every drop of blood
That every noble Roman has within him, Would be proven to be bastard’s blood,
If he broke the smallest part Of any promise that he had made.
CASSIUS But what about Cicero? Shall
we find out what he thinks about this matter? I think he will agree wholeheartedly with us.
CASCA Let’s not leave him out.
CINNA No, by no means.
METELLUS CIMBER Oh, let’s have him on board,
because his grey-headed wisdom Will earn us a good reputation
And cause men to speak out in support of our actions.
It will be assumed that it was his wise decision-making that ordered our actions;
Our youthful, wild ways will not be at all apparent,
But will be concealed by his solemn dignity.
BRUTUS Oh,
don’t talk about him; let’s not broach the matter with him,
Because he will never follow anything That other men have started.
CASSIUS Then leave him out.
CASCA Indeed, he is not right for this.
DECIUS BRUTUS
Are we going after any other men or is it just Caesar?
CASSIUS Well said,
Decius. I don’t think it would be proper if Mark Antony, who is so loved by Caesar,
Outlived Caesar. We would find him to be A cunning plotter; and you know his connections,
If he made good use of them, may well go as far As harming us all; to forestall this,
Antony and Caesar should die together.
BRUTUS Our actions will seem too bloody, Caius Cassius,
If we cut off Caesar’s head and then hack at his limbs too,
It will look like rage when we kill Caesar and like malice when we kill Antony afterwards;
Because Antony is just one of Caesar’s limbs. Let’s be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius.
We all stand up against the spirit of what Caesar represents,
And in the spirit of men there is no blood.
Oh, how I wish that we could overcome Caesar’s over-ambitious spirit,
And not have to dismember Caesar! But alas, Caesar must bleed. And, noble friends,
Let us kill him boldly, but not with anger; Let us carve him ceremoniously
like a dish fit for the gods, Not chop him up like a carcass fit for dogs.
And let our hearts, as cunning masters do, Stir up our emotions to an act of rage,
And afterwards seem to rebuke them. This will make it plain
That our reason is one of political necessity and not personal malice;
Which will make us appear to the common people, As surgeons, and not murderers.
And as for Mark Antony, don’t worry about him; Because he won’t be able to do anything
as Caesar’s arm After Caesar’s head has been cut off.
CASSIUS But I am afraid of him;
Because the deep-rooted love he has for Caesar
BRUTUS Alas, good Cassius, don’t worry about him.
If he loves Caesar, all the injury he can inflict Is on himself:
by succumbing to grief and dying for Caesar; And that would be far too much to expect from
someone like him; because he prefers Sports, wildness, fun and many friends.
TREBONIUS
There is nothing to worry about as far as he is concerned; let’s not kill him;
Because he will live and laugh at this in the future.
Clock strikes
BRUTUS
Be quiet and count how many times the clock chimes.
CASSIUS The clock struck three.
TREBONIUS It is time to leave.
CASSIUS But as yet, we are unsure
Whether Caesar will come out into a public place today or not;
Because he has become superstitious recently,
Quite opposite from the strong opinions he once held against
Imaginings, dreams and omens. It may be that these manifest,
out of the ordinary occurrences, The exceptional terror of this night,
And the persuasion of his fortune tellers Will keep him away from the Capitol today.
DECIUS BRUTUS
Don’t worry about that. If that is what he has decided,
I can convince him to change his mind; because he loves to hear
How unicorns can be captured with trees, And bears with mirrors, elephants
with holes, Lions with traps and men with flattery.
But when I tell him that he hates flatterers, He agrees, just as I am flattering him the most.
Let me work on him; Because I can
influence him in the right direction, And I will bring him to the Capitol.
CASSIUS No, we will all go there to bring him.
BRUTUS
By eight o’clock; Is that the latest that we can do it?
CINNA That is
the latest, and don’t be any later than that.
METELLUS CIMBER
Caius Ligarius feels enmity towards Caesar, Who rebuked him for speaking well of Pompey;
I am wondering why none of you have thought of enlisting his support.
BRUTUS Now, good Metellus, go and call at his house;
He genuinely likes me very much, and I have given him good reason to do so.
Just send him here and I will persuade him to join our party.
CASSIUS
The morning is fast approaching; we shall leave you, Brutus.
And, friends, go your separate ways; but be sure to remember
What you have said and prove yourselves to be true Romans.
BRUTUS Good gentlemen, look fresh-faced and happy;
Don’t let our facial expressions betray our plans,
But carry it off as our Roman actors do, With alert spirits and dignified composure.
And so, good morning to each and every one of you. (Exeunt all but BRUTUS)
Boy! Lucius! Are you fast sleep? It doesn’t matter.
Enjoy the honey sweetness of deep sleep; You have no strange imaginings,
Which overwhelming worries deposit in men’s brains;
That is why you sleep so soundly.
Enter PORTIA
PORTIA Brutus, my lord.
BRUTUS Portia! What
are you doing? Why are you up so early? It is not good for your health to expose
Your weak condition to the raw, cold morning air.
PORTIA It is not good for your
health either. Brutus, you disrespectfully, Crept out of bed; and last night at supper
You suddenly got up and walked to and fro, Musing and sighing in a melancholy way,
with your arms crossed; And when I asked you what the matter was,
You glared at me angrily. I urged you to tell me;
then you scratched your head, And stamped your foot impatiently;
Still I persisted, still you wouldn’t answer me, But with an angry waving gesture of your hand
You signalled that I should leave you alone. So I did,
Afraid to increase that impatience Which was already aroused in you, and moreover
Hoping it was a passing moment of moodiness, Which affects everyone once in a while.
Your mood won’t let you eat, talk or sleep; And if it could have as much effect on your body,
As it has had on your frame of mind, I would not be able to recognise you,
Brutus. My dear lord, Tell me what is causing your grief.
BRUTUS I am not feeling well, that’s all.
PORTIA Brutus,
you’re wise, and if you were not in good health, You would take whatever was needed to obtain it.
BRUTUS Well, I am doing so. Good Portia, go to bed.
PORTIA Are you ill, Brutus? And is it healthy
To walk around, buttons undone, breathing in the dampness
Of the dank morning? Well, are you ill, Brutus? And did you sneak out of your warm, cosy bed
To brave the vile, infectious night, And tempt the watery and unclean air,
To add to your illness? No, my Brutus; You have some harmful sickness within your mind,
Which, by virtue of my position as your wife, I ought to be told about; and on my knees,
I entreat you, by my once-praised beauty, By all your vows of love and
that great vow of marriage Which joined us and made us one,
That you reveal to me, yourself, your wife, Why you are downhearted, and what men,
Have to come to see you tonight; because there were
About six or seven men here who hid their faces Even in the darkness.
BRUTUS Don’t kneel, noble Portia.
PORTIA I would not
need to, if you were behaving nobly, Brutus. Within the bond of marriage, Brutus, tell me,
Is it expected that I should not be told any secrets
That concern you? Am I one with you But only in a limited way,
Eating meals with you, sleeping with you,
And talking to you sometimes? Do I live only in the outskirts
Of your happiness? If I am no more than that, Then I am your whore and not your wife.
BRUTUS You are my true and honourable wife,
As dear to me as the red drops of blood That flow through my sad heart.
PORTIA: If that were true,
then I would know what this secret is. I grant you that I am a woman;
but you must consider I am the woman Lord Brutus took for his wife;
I grant you that I am a woman; but you must consider
I am a woman from a reputable family, Cato’s daughter.
Do you honestly think that I am no stronger than other women,
Having such men as yourselves for my father and my husband?
Tell me these things you’re deliberating over,
I will not betray them. I have proved my faithful endurance,
By giving myself a voluntary wound Here, in my thigh;
if I can bear that with patience, Can’t I bear my husband’s secrets?
BRUTUS Oh, ye gods,
Make me worthy of this noble wife!
A knocking sound offstage
Listen! Someone is knocking. Portia, go inside for a while;
And before long your heart shall share in The secrets of my heart.
All my assignations I will explain to you, Everything that is written in my sad
facial expression. Leave me quickly.
Exit PORTIA
Lucius, who’s that knocking?
Re-enter LUCIUS with LIGARIUS.
LUCIUS Here is a sick man who wants to speak with you.
BRUTUS It’s Caius
Ligarius, who Metellus was talking about. Boy, stand aside. Caius Ligarius, how are you?
LIGARIUS Please accept my feeble good morning.
BRUTUS Oh,
what a time you have chosen to be unavailable, brave Caius,
Wearing a cloth around your head, showing that you’re sick! I wish you weren’t ill!
LIGARIUS
I am not ill if Brutus is ready with An honourable exploit for me.
BRUTUS I do
have such an exploit ready, Ligarius, If you’re well enough to hear about it.
LIGARIUS
By all the gods that Romans worship, I throw off my sickness here.
(He throws off the cloth) Soul of Rome!
Noble son, of honourable parents! You, like an exorcist, have conjured up
My spirit which was dead. Now give me the go ahead,
And I will attempt to do impossible things, Yes, and succeed too. What needs to be done?
BRUTUS A deed which will make sick men healthy.
LIGARIUS
But aren’t there some healthy men whom we have to kill?
BRUTUS That too. The deed, dear Caius,
I shall explain to you, as we are on our way To the dwelling of him to whom it must be done.
LIGARIUS Advance on foot,
And with a heart rekindled with life and courage I will follow you,
To do what, I do not know; but it is enough for me That Brutus leads the way.
BRUTUS Follow me then.
Exeunt