Act 5, page 0

Table of Contents

ACT V SCENE I Setting: 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,	5
	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	10
	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.	15
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?	19
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.	25
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.	35
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:	40
	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:	45
	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.	55
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.	60
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;	65
	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?	70
	BRUTUS and LUCILIUS converse apart.
CASSIUS	Messala!
MESSALA
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	75
	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	80
	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,	85
	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;	90
	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?	100
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?	110
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!	120
	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,	125
	And then the end is known. Come, ho! away!
	Exeunt