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8/9/2019 act2 scene2

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CAESAR:Neither heaven nor earth have been at peace tonight.

Three times Calpurnia has cried out in her sleep,"Help, oh! They murder Caesar!"Who's there?

SERVANT:

My lord?CAESAR:

Go tell the priests to do the sacrifice now,

And bring me their opinions of success.

SERVANT:I will, my lord.

CALPURNIA:What do you mean, Caesar? Do you intend to walk outside?You shall not go out of your house today.

CAESAR:Caesar shall go out. The things that threaten me

Never look on anything but my back; when they seeThe face of Caesar, they disappear.

CALPURNIA:Caesar, I never believed in omens,

Yet now they frighten me. Besides the things thatWe have heard and seen, there is a man inside

Recounting the most horrid sights seen by the guards.A lioness has given birth in the streets;

And graves have opened up and given up their dead;Fierce fiery warriors fight on the clouds,

In ranks and squadrons and right forms of war,Which drizzled blood on the Capitol;

The noise of battle screaming into the air,Horses neighed, and dying men groaned;And ghosts shrieked and squealed around the

streets.O Caesar, these things are past all customs,

And Im afraid them!

CAESAR:What we avoidWhen the mighty gods dictate how things go?

Still, Caesar shall go out, because these predictionsAre not only for Caesar but also for the world in general.

CALPURNIA:When beggars die, there are no comets seen in the sky.

The heavens themselves mark the death of princes with fire.

CAESAR:Cowards die many times before their deaths;The valiant only taste of death once.

Of all the wonders that I yet have heard,It seems most strange to me that men should fear death,


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Seeing that death, a necessary end,Will come when it will come.

What say the fortune-tellers?

SERVANT:They say not to go out today.

Looking at the guts of an offering,

They couldnt find a heart inside the beast.

CAESAR:The gods do this in shame of cowardice.Caesar should be a beast without a heart,

If he stays at home today because hes afraid.No, Caesar shall not. Danger knows full well

That Caesar is more dangerous than he.We are two lions born on the same day,

And I am older and more terrible;And Caesar shall go out.

CALPURNIA:Alas, my lord,

Your wisdom is consumed in confidence!Dont go out today. Call it my fear

That keeps you in the house, and not your own.We'll send Mark Antony to the Senate-house,

And he shall say youre not well today.Let me, on my knee, win this argument.

CAESAR:Mark Antony shall say Im not well,

And, to make you happy, Ill stay home.

Here's Decius Brutus, he shall tell them so.

DECIUS:Caesar, all hail! Good morning, worthy Caesar.I come to go get you to the Senate-house.

CAESAR:And youve come at a very happy time

To bear my greeting to the Senators,And tell them that I cant come today.

Cant is false, and I dont dare make a falser excuse.Ill not come today. Tell them so, Decius.

CALPURNIA:Say hes sick.

CAESAR:Shall Caesar send a lie?

Have I fought so hard in battle,


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To be afraid to tell grey-beards the truth?Decius, go tell them Caesar will not come.

DECIUS:Most mighty Caesar, let me know some reason,

In case Im laughed at when I tell them so.

CAESAR:The cause is my will; Ill not come.

That is enough to satisfy the Senate.

But, for your private satisfaction,Because I love you, Ill let you know.

Calpurnia here, my wife, wants me to stay home.She dreamed tonight that she saw my statue,

Which, like a fountain with an hundred spouts,Ran with pure blood, and many lusty Romans

Came smiling and bathed their hands in it.And these she interprets for warnings and portents

And imminent evil, and on her knee,Has begged me to stay home today.

DECIUS:This dream is interpreted all wrong.

It was a fair and fortunate vision.Your statue spouting blood in many pipes,

In which so many smiling Romans bathed,Signifies that, from you, great Rome shall suck

Reviving blood, and that great men shall askFor tinctures, stains, relics, and recognition.

This is what Calpurnias dream means.

CAESAR:And in this way, you have explained it very well.

DECIUS:I have, when youve heard what I can sayAnd you know it now. The Senate has concluded

To give a crown to mighty Caesar this day.If you send them word youll not come,

They may change their minds. Besides, its might beInterpreted as silly, because someone says

"Break up the Senate until another time,When Caesar's wife shall have better dreams."

If Caesar hides himself, wont they whisper"Lo, Caesar is afraid"?

Pardon me, Caesar; because my dear, dear loveTo your advancement bids me tell you this;

And reason is responsible to my love.

CAESAR:


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How foolish your fears seem now, Calpurnia!Im ashamed that I gave in to them.

Give me my robe, because Ill go.

And look where Publius is coming to go get me.

PUBLIUS:Good morning, Caesar.

CAESAR:Welcome, Publius.

What, Brutus, are you up so early too?Good morning, Casca.Caius Ligarius,

Caesar was never so much your enemyAs he is enemy to that same illness which has made you lean.

What time is it?

BRUTUS:

Caesar, its eight o'clock.CAESAR:I thank you for your pains and courtesy.

See! Antony, that parties all through the night,

Is, nonetheless up.Good morning, Antony.

ANTONY:Good morning, most noble Caesar.

CAESAR:Ask them prepare inside.

Im to blame to be waited for like this.Now, Cinna;now, Metellus;what, Trebonius!

I have an hour-long speech in store for you.Remember that you call on me today;

Be near me so that I may remember you.

TREBONIUS:Caesar, I will.

and so near will I be,

That your best friends shall wish I had been further away.

CAESAR:Good friends, go in, and taste some wine with me;

And we, like friends, will go ahead together straightaway.

BRUTUS:That every like isnt the same, O Caesar,That the heart of Brutus yearns to think about!

CAESAR:The Ides of March are here.


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SOOTHSAYER:Yes, Caesar, but not gone.

ARTEMIDORUS:Hail, Caesar! Read this petition.

DECIUS:

Trebonius wants you to read thisHumble suit at your leisure.

ARTEMIDORUS:O Caesar, read mine first, because mine's a suitThat touches Caesar nearer. Read it, great Caesar.

CAESAR:What concerns ourselves shall be the last thing considered.

ARTEMIDORUS:Dont delay, Caesar; read it instantly.

CAESAR:What, is the fellow mad?

PUBLIUS:Servant, get away.

CASSIUS:What, do you present your petitions in the street?

Come to the Capitol.

POPILIUS:I wish your undertaking today may thrive.

CASSIUS:What undertaking, Popilius?

POPILIUS:Goodbye.Greetings to Caesar.

BRUTUS:What did Popilius Lena say?

CASSIUS:He wished that our undertaking today might thrive.

Im afraid our plan has been discovered.

BRUTUS:Look, how he gets Caesars attention. Watch him.

CASSIUS:Casca, do it quickly, because were afraid well be stopped.Brutus, whats going to be done? If this is known,

Cassius or Caesar shall never turn back,Because Ill kill myself.

BRUTUS:Cassius, stop worrying.

Popilius Lena doesnt speak about our plan,Because, look, he smiles, and Caesar doesnt notice anything.

CASSIUS:


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Trebonius when to act, because, look, Brutus,Hes taking Mark Antony out of the way.

DECIUS:Where is Metellus Cimber? Let him come,

And now tell Caesar what it is that he wants.

BRUTUS:Hes ready; get closer and back him up.

CINNA:Casca, youre the first one to strike.

CAESAR:Are we All ready? Whats the problemThat Caesar and his Senate must fix?

METELLUS:Most high, most mighty, and most powerful Caesar,

Metellus Cimber falls before youMost humbly.

CAESAR:I must stop you, Cimber.

These lying down and these lowly courtesiesMight move ordinary men,

And turn previous laws and the first decreeInto the laws of children. Dont be so silly as

To think that Caesar has such rebel bloodThat will be changed by

The same things that change fools; I mean, sweet words,Low, crooked curtsies, and playing up to me like a puppy.

Your brother is banished by decree.If you do bend, and pray, and play up to me for him,

I reject you out of my way like a stray dog.Caesar has never been wrong, only with good reason,

And he will not be satisfied without good reason.

METELLUS:Is there any voice more worthy than mineTo speak more sweetly into great Caesar's ear

To ask for a repeal of my banished brothers sentence?

BRUTUS:I kiss your hand but not in flattery, Caesar.I ask you for an immediate repeal for

Publius Cimber.

CAESAR:What, Brutus?

CASSIUS:Pardon, Caesar; Caesar, pardon.Cassius falls as low as your foot,

To beg freedom for Publius Cimber.

CAESAR:


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I could be persuaded, if I were like you;If I could pray to be persuaded, prayers would persuade me.

But Im constant as the north star,Whose true-fixed and resting quality

Is unequalled in the sky.

The skies are painted with an infinite number of stars,Theyre all fire, and every one shines;But there's only one north star.

Its the same in the world; it has many men,And men are flesh and blood, and fearful;

Yet in that number, I only know oneThat holds on his rank not open to attack,

Unshaken by persuasion. And Im that man.Let me show it a little, even in this,

That I was resolved that Cimber should be banished,And remain resolved to keep him so.

CINNA:O Caesar,

CAESAR:Go away! Will you move the mountain of the gods?

DECIUS:Great Caesar,

CAESAR:Doesnt Brutus kneel without success?

CASCA:Speak, hands, for me!

CAESAR:You too, Brutus? Then fall, Caesar!

CINNA:Liberty! Freedom! Tyranny is dead!

Run away, proclaim, cry it about the streets.

CASSIUS:Some of you go to the common people in the squaresAnd cry out, "Liberty, freedom, and liberation!"

BRUTUS:People and Senators, dont be afraid;

Dont flee; stand still; ambition has paid its debt.

CASCA:Go ahead to the square, Brutus.

DECIUS:And Cassius too.

BRUTUS:Where's Publius?

CINNA:Here, quite confused by this mutiny.

METELLUS:


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Stand together solidly, for fear that some friend of Caesar'sShould happen

BRUTUS:Dont talk about standing.Publius, good cheer!

We dont intend to harm you,

Or any other Roman. Tell them so, Publius.CASSIUS:

And leave us, Publius for fear that the people

Will attack us, doing some mischief to your old body.

BRUTUS:Do so; and let no man pay for this deedBut we who did it.

CASSIUS:Where's Antony?

TREBONIUS:Fled to his house amazed.

Men, wives, and children stare, cry out, and run,As it were doomsday.

BRUTUS:Destiny, tell us what comes next.

We know we shall die, we know; its only timeAnd drawing days out that men live on.

CASSIUS:Why, he that spends twenty years fearing death

Cuts twenty years off his life.

BRUTUS:I agree, and then is death a benefit.So do we, Caesar's friends, that have cut

His time of fearing death. Bend, Romans, bend,And lets wash our hands in Caesar's blood

Up to the elbows, and smear our swords with it.Then we will walk out, even to the market-place,

And waving our red weapons over our heads,Let's all cry, "Peace, freedom, and liberty!"

CASSIUS:Bend then, and wash. How often will our deed

Be acted over and over for future generationsIn States and languages yet unknown!

BRUTUS:How many times will Caesar bleed in amusement,

That lies now next to Pompey's statue,No worthier than the dust!

CASSIUS:So often as that shall be,

So often shall the group of us be calledThe men that gave their country liberty.


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DECIUS:What, shall we go?

CASSIUS:Yes, every man away.

Brutus shall lead, and we will follow him

With the most boldest and best hearts of Rome.BRUTUS:

Wait, whos coming here?

A friend of Antony's.

SERVANT:Like this, Brutus, my master told me to kneel;Like this, Antony told me to fall down;

And, being stretched out, on my face, he asked me say,like this: Brutus is noble, wise, valiant, and honest;

Caesar was mighty, bold, royal, and loving;Say I love Brutus and I honor him;

Say Im afraid of Caesar, honored him, and loved him.If Brutus will guarantee that Antony

May safely come to him and is ready to tellHow Caesar deserved to die,

Mark Antony shall love Brutus livingBetter than Caesar dead, and will follow

The fortunes and affairs of noble Brutus with all true faithThorough the hazards of this unconquered state.

That is what my master Antony says.

BRUTUS:Your master is a wise and valiant Roman;I always thought so.

Tell him, if it pleases him come to this place,He shall get an explanation and, by my honor,

Leave here safely.

SERVANT:I'll go get him now.

BRUTUS:I know that we shall have him as a friend.

CASSIUS:I hope that we may, but my heart is stillVery much afraid of him, and my gut feeling is that

He cannot be trusted.

BRUTUS:But here comes Antony.

Welcome, Mark Antony.

ANTONY:


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O mighty Caesar! Do you lie so low?Do all your conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils,

Boil down to this? Goodbye.I dont know, gentlemen, what you intend,

Who else must be killed, who else is corrupt.

If Im going be killed, there is no time likeCaesar's death-hour, or any instrumentHalf as worthy as your swords, decorated richly

With the most noble blood in this whole world.Please, if you hate me, kill me now

While your purpled hands smeared with fresh blood.Live a thousand years, and

I wont find myself so eager to die.No place will please me so much, no means of death,

As to be killed here by Caesar, and killed by you,The choice and master spirits of this age.

BRUTUS:O Antony, dont beg your death from us!

Although we must appear bloody and cruel now,As you can see by our hands and this recent deed;

Still you can only see our handsAnd this bleeding business they have done.

You dont see our hearts; theyre full of pity;Pity the general injury of Rome

As fire drives out fire, so pity drives out pity Has done this deed on Caesar. For your part,

Our swords have leaden points to you, Mark Antony;Our arms in strength of friendship, and our hearts

Of brotherly disposition, receive youWith all kind love, good thoughts, and reverence.

CASSIUS:Your voice shall be as strong as any man's

In giving out the new honorable offices.

BRUTUS:Only be patient until we have pacifiedThe multitude, who are beside themselves with fear,

And then we will tell you the reasonWhy I, that loved Caesar when I struck him,

Have acted this way.

ANTONY:I dont doubt your wisdom.Let each man give me his bloody hand.

First, Marcus Brutus, I will shake with you;Next, Caius Cassius, I take your hand;

Now, Decius Brutus, yours;now yours, Metellus;Yours, Cinna;and, my valiant Casca, yours;


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Though last, not least in love, yours, good Trebonius.Gentlemen allalas, what shall I say?

My reputation now stands on such slippery ground,That you must think of me one of two bad ways,

Either a coward or a flatterer.

That I loved you, Caesar, O, its true.If then your spirit looks on us now,Wont it hurt you more than your death

To see your Antony making his peace,Shaking the bloody fingers of your foes,

Most noble!in the presence of your corpse?If I had as many eyes as youve got wounds,

Weeping as fast as they let your blood out,It would suit me better than to close

In terms of friendship with your enemies.Pardon me, Julius! Here you were surrounded, brave deer;

Here you fell, and here your hunters stand,Marked by your destruction, and turned red by your death.

O world, you were the forest to this deer;And this, indeed, O world, the heart of you.

How much you look like a deer stricken by many princes,Lying here!

CASSIUS:Mark Antony,

ANTONY:Pardon me, Caius Cassius.

The enemies of Caesar shall say all this;Then, in a friend, it is cold shame.

CASSIUS:I dont blame you for praising Caesar so;

But what agreement do mean you to have with us?Will you be counted in the number of our friends,

Or shall we go on and not depend on you?

ANTONY:I shook your hands for that reason; but I was reallyDistracted from the point by looking down on Caesar.

I am friends with you all, and love you all,On this hope, that you shall give me reasons

Why and how Caesar was dangerous.

BRUTUS:Or else this was a savage spectacle.Our reasons are so full of good regard

That were you, Antony, the son of Caesar,You should be satisfied.

ANTONY:


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That's all I find.And I am, moreover, asking that I may

Take his body to the market place;And on the platform, as becomes a friend,

Speak in the order of his funeral.

BRUTUS:You shall do it, Mark Antony.

CASSIUS:Brutus, a word with you.

You dont know what youre doing; dont consent

That Antony speak at his funeral.

Do you know how much the people may be affectedBy what hell say?

BRUTUS:

Please.Ill go onto the platform first,

And explain our Caesar's death.Whatever Antony shall speak, Ill formerly declare

That he speaks with our permissionAnd that we are happy that Caesar shall

Have all true rights and lawful ceremonies.Itll be to our advantage more than doing us harm.

CASSIUS:I dont know what may happen; I dont like it.

BRUTUS:Mark Antony, here, take Caesar's body.

You shall not blame us in your funeral speech,But speak all the good that you can imagine about Caesar;

And say you do it by our permission;Or else you wont have any part at all

In his funeral. And you shall speakAfter my speech is ended

On the same platform where Im going to be.

ANTONY:I dont desire any more.

BRUTUS:Prepare the body, then, and follow us.

ANTONY:O, forgive me, you bleeding piece of earth,

That Im meek and gentle with these butchers!Youre the ruins of the noblest man

That ever lived in the tide of times.Woe to the hand that shed this costly blood!

I now predict over your wounds now,


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Which, like dumb mouths, open their ruby lipsTo ask the voice and action of my tongue,

A curse shall fall on the limbs of men;Domestic fury and fierce civil strifeShall break out in all the parts of Italy;

Blood and destruction shall be so widespread,

And dreadful objects so familiar,That mothers shall only smile when they seeTheir infants cut into pieces by the hands of war;

All pity choked with usual practice of savage deeds.And Caesar's spirit, raging for revenge,

Coming hot from Hell with chief witch by his side,Shall cry "Havoc!" in these regions, with a monarch's voice

And let the dogs of war loose,That this foul deed shall smell above the earth

With decaying men, groaning for burial.

You serve Octavius Caesar, dont you?

SERVANT:I do, Mark Antony.

ANTONY:Caesar wrote for him to come to Rome.

SERVANT:He received his letters, and is coming;

And told me to say to you by word of mouth,O Caesar!

ANTONY:Your heart is big, go some place private and weep.

Passion, I see, is catching; for my eyes,Seeing those beads of sorrow stand in yours,

Began to tear. Is your master coming?

SERVANT:He lies tonight within twenty-one miles of Rome.

ANTONY:Get back to him quickly speed, and tell him what has happened.Here is a mourning Rome, a dangerous Rome,

A Rome not safe for Octavius yet;Get going, and tell him so. Stay here for a bit;You shall not go back until I have carried this corpse

Into the market place. There I shall test,In my speech, how the people takeThe cruel actions of these bloody men;

Once I know that, you shall tellYoung Octavius the state of things.

Lend me your hand.

CITIZENS:We will be satisfied; lets be satisfied.


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BRUTUS:Then follow me, and listen to me, friends.

Cassius, you go into the other streetAnd separate the crowd.

Those that will hear me speak, let them stay here;

Those that will follow Cassius, go with him;And public reasons shall be givenAbout Caesar's death.

FIRST CITIZEN:Ill hear Brutus speak.

SECOND CITIZEN:Ill hear Cassius, and compare their reasons,

Once they have all been told.

THIRD CITIZEN:The noble Brutus is on the platform. Silence!

BRUTUS:

Please wait until I finish.Romans, countrymen, and friends! Listen to my cause, and be

silent, so you can hear. Believe me based on my honor, and haverespect for my honor, so you can believe. Judge me in your

wisdom, and wake up your senses, so you can be a better judge.If there is anyone in this assembly, any dear friend of Caesar's, to

him I say that Brutus' love to Caesar was no less than his love. Ifthen that friend demands why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is

my answer,Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Romemore. Would you rather Caesar were living, and you all die slaves, than

that Caesar were dead, so you all live freemen? As Caesar loved me, Iweep for him; as he was fortunate, I rejoice at it; as he was

valiant, I honor him; but, as he was ambitious, I killed him.There are tears for his love; joy for his fortune; honor for his

valor, and death for his ambition. Who is here so low thatthey wouldrather be a slave? If there are any, speak, because I have offended him.

Who here is so rude that they wouldnt be a Roman? If there are any, speak,because I have offended him. Who is here so vile that he will not love his

country? If there are any, speak, because I offended him.Ill stop so you can reply.

ALL:None, Brutus, none.

BRUTUS:Then I have offended none. I have done no more to Caesar

than you shall do to Brutus. The question of his death isrecorded on rolls in the Capitol, his glory not made thin, where he

was worthy; nor are his offenses recorded, for which he suffereddeath.


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Here comes his body, mourned by Mark Antony, who, although he hadno hand in his death, shall receive the benefit of his dying, a

place in the commonwealth, just as you all will. With this,I leave that, as I killed my best friend for the good of Rome, I

have the same dagger for myself, to be used when it shall

please my country to need my death.

ALL:Live, Brutus! Live, live!

FIRST CITIZEN:Bring him home with triumph to his house.

SECOND CITIZEN:Give him a statue with his ancestors.

THIRD CITIZEN:Let him be Caesar.

FOURTH CITIZEN:

Caesar's better partsShall be crowned in Brutus.

FIRST CITIZEN:We'll bring him to his house with shouts and clamors.

BRUTUS:My countrymen,

SECOND CITIZEN:Peace! silence! Brutus speaks.

FIRST CITIZEN:Peace, oh!

BRUTUS:Good countrymen, let me leave alone,

And, for my sake, stay here with Antony.Respect Caesar's corpse, and respect his speech

About Caesar's glory, which Mark AntonyIs allowed to make with our permission.

Please, no man leave,Except I alone, until Antony has spoken.

FIRST CITIZEN:Stay, oh! and lets hear Mark Antony.

THIRD CITIZEN:Let him go up onto the platform;

We'll hear him.Noble Antony, go up.

ANTONY:For Brutus' sake, Im grateful to you.

FOURTH CITIZEN:What does he say about Brutus?

THIRD CITIZEN:He says, for Brutus' sake,He finds himself grateful to us all.


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FOURTH CITIZEN:Its best that he doesnt speak harm about Brutus here.

FIRST CITIZEN:This Caesar was a tyrant.

THIRD CITIZEN:

Yes, that's certain.We are blessed that Rome is rid of him.

SECOND CITIZEN:Peace! Lets hear what Antony can say.

ANTONY:You gentle Romans,

ALL:Peace, oh! Lets hear him.

ANTONY:Friends, Romans, countrymen, listen to me;I come here to bury Caesar, not to praise him.

The evil that men do lives after them;The good is often buried with their bones.

So let it be with Caesar. The noble BrutusHas told you that Caesar was ambitious.

If its true, it was a serious mistake;And seriously Caesar has paid for it.

Here, with the permission of Brutus and the rest,Because Brutus is an honorable man;

And they are all, all honorable men,I come to speak in Caesar's funeral.

He was my friend, faithful and just to me.But Brutus says he was ambitious;

And Brutus is an honorable man.Caesar brought many captives home to Rome,

Whose ransoms filled the national treasury.Did this seem ambitious in Caesar?

When the poor have cried, Caesar has wept.Ambition should be made of stiffer stuff.

Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;And Brutus is an honorable man.

You all saw that, on the feast of the priest Lupercus,I presented a kingly crown to him three times,

Which he refused three times. Was this ambition?Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;

And, sure, hes an honorable man.I dont speak to disprove what Brutus spoke,

But Im here to speak what I know.You all loved him once,not without reason.

What reasons keep you, then, from mourning him?O judgment, youve turned into brutish beasts,


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And men have lost their reason! Bear with me;My heart is there with Caesar in the coffin,

And I must pause until it comes back to me.

FIRST CITIZEN:I think there is a lot of reason in what hes saying.

SECOND CITIZEN:If you rightly think about the matter,

Caesar has had great wrong done to him.

THIRD CITIZEN:Hasnt he, gentlemen?

Im afraid that a worse man will take his place.

FOURTH CITIZEN:Did you pay attention to his words? Caesar wouldnt take the crown;Its certain he wasnt ambitious for that reason.

FIRST CITIZEN:If its found to be so, someone will dearly pay for it.

SECOND CITIZEN:Poor soul! His eyes are red as fire with weeping.

THIRD CITIZEN:here's not a nobler man in Rome than Antony.

FOURTH CITIZEN:Now watch him; he begins to speak again.

ANTONY:Only yesterday, the word of Caesar might

Have stood against the world. Now lies he there,And there is no one too poor to pay him respect.

O gentlemen, if I wanted to stirYour hearts and minds to mutiny and rage,

I would do Brutus and Cassius wrong,Who, as you all know, are honorable men.

I wont do them wrong; I would rather chooseTo wrong the dead, to wrong myself, and you,

Before Ill wrong such honorable men.But here's a parchment with the seal of Caesar,

I found it in his bedroom,its his will.Let only the common people hear this testament,

Which, pardon me, I dont mean to read,And they would go and kiss dead Caesar's wounds,

And dip their napkins in his sacred blood;Yes, beg a hair of him for memory,

And, dying, mention that hair in their wills, Leaving it as a rich legacyTo their children.

FOURTH CITIZEN:We'll hear the will. Read it, Mark Antony.

ALL:The will, the will! We will hear Caesar's will.


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ANTONY:Have patience, gentle friends, I must not read it;

It isnt proper that you know how Caesar loved you.You arent wood, you arent stones, you are men;

And, being men, hearing the will of Caesar,

It will inflame you; it will make you crazy.Its good that you dont know that youre his heirs;Because if you did, O, what would happen!

FOURTH CITIZEN:Read the will! We'll hear it, Antony;

You shall read us the will,Caesar's will!

ANTONY:Wont you be patient? Wont you wait a minute?I went beyond what I was going to say to tell you about it.

Im afraid I wrong the honorable menWhose daggers have stabbed Caesar; I really do fear it.

FOURTH CITIZEN:They were traitors. Honorable men!

ALL:The will! The testament!

SECOND CITIZEN:They were villains, murderers. The will! Read the will!

ANTONY:Youll force me, then, to read the will?

Then make a circle around the corpse of Caesar,And let me show you the man who made the will.

Shall I come down? And will you give me permission?

ALL:Come down.

SECOND CITIZEN:Come down.

THIRD CITIZEN:You shall have permission.

FOURTH CITIZEN:A circle! Stand round.

FIRST CITIZEN:Stand from the hearse, stand from the body.

SECOND CITIZEN:Room for Antony!most noble Antony!

ANTONY:No, dont press so close to me; stand a bit away.

ALL:Stand back; Make room! Move back.

ANTONY:If youve got tears, get ready to shed them now.You all know this cloak. I remember


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The first time Caesar ever put it on;It was on a summer's evening, in his tent,

That day he overcame Belgium.Look, Cassius ran his dagger through in this place.

See what a tear the envious Casca made.

Through this one, the well-beloved Brutus stabbed;And as he withdrew his cursed knife away,Pay attention to how the blood of Caesar followed it,

As rushing out of doors, to be openedIf Brutus so unkindly knocked or not;

Because Brutus, as you know, was Caesar's angel.Judge, O you gods, how dearly Caesar loved him!

This was the most unkindest cut of all,Because, when the noble Caesar saw Brutus stab him,

Ingratitude, stronger than traitors' arms,Quite defeated him. Then his mighty heart burst,

And, in his cloak covering up his face,Even at the base of Pompey's statue,

Which was covered in blood, great Caesar fell.O, what a fall there was, my countrymen!Then I, and you, and all of us fell down,

While bloody treason bloomed over us.O, now you weep and I can see that you feel

The blow of pity. These tears are full of grace.Kind souls, what, do you weep when you only see

Our Caesar's clothes wounded? Look here,Here he is, disfigured, as you can see, by traitors.

FIRST CITIZEN:O piteous spectacle!

SECOND CITIZEN:O noble Caesar!

THIRD CITIZEN:O sad day!

FOURTH CITIZEN:O traitors, villains!

FIRST CITIZEN:O most bloody sight!

SECOND CITIZEN:We will have revenge.

ALL:Revenge,go,find,burn,fire,kill,slay, dont let a

traitor live!

ANTONY:Wait, countrymen.

FIRST CITIZEN:Peace there! Hear the noble Antony.

SECOND CITIZEN:


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We'll hear him, we'll follow him, we'll die with him.

ANTONY:Good friends, sweet friends, dont let me stir you upTo such a sudden flood of rebellion.

They who have done this deed are honorable.

What private sorrows they have that made them do it,Alas, I dont know,They're wise and honorable,And will, no doubt, answer you with reasons.

I didnt come, friends, to steal away your hearts.Im no orator, as Brutus is;

I am only, as you all know, a plain blunt man,That loved my friend, and that is known full well

By they who gave me public permission to speak about him,Because I dont have wit, or words, or worth,

Action, or utterance, or the power of speech,To stir men's blood. I only speak directly;

I tell you what you yourselves already know.I show you sweet Caesar's wounds, poor dumb mouths,

And ask them to speak for me. But if I were Brutus,And if Brutus were Antony, there would be an Antony to

Ruffle up your spirits, and put a tongueIn every wound of Caesar, that would move

The stones of Rome to rise and rebel.

ALL:We'll rebel.

FIRST CITIZEN:We'll burn the house of Brutus.

THIRD CITIZEN:Away, then! Come, find the conspirators.

ANTONY:But hear me, countrymen; still hear me speak.

ALL:Peace, oh! hear Antony; most noble Antony!

ANTONY:Why, friends, you go ahead to do you dont know what.Where has Caesar deserved your loves like this?

Alas, you dont know; I must tell you then.Youve forgotten the will I told you of.

ALL:Most true; the will!let's stay, and hear the will.

ANTONY:Here is the will, and under Caesar's seal.

To every Roman citizen he givesSeventy-five dollars each.

SECOND CITIZEN:Most noble Caesar!we'll revenge his death.


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THIRD CITIZEN:O, royal Caesar!

ANTONY:Hear me with patience.

ALL:

Peace, oh!ANTONY:

Moreover, he has left you all his fields,

His private gardens, and just planted orchards,On this side Tiber. He has left them you,

And to your heirs forever, common pleasures,To walk abroad and relax yourselves.

Here was a Caesar! When does another like him come?

FIRST CITIZEN:Never, never.Come, away, away!We'll burn his body in the holy place,

And well set the traitors' houses on fire with the torches.Pick up the body.

SECOND CITIZEN:Go, go get fire.

THIRD CITIZEN:Grab down benches.

FOURTH CITIZEN:Grab down chairs, windows, anything.

ANTONY:Now let it work.Mischief, youre working!

Take you what course youll!

What is it now, fellow?

SERVANT:Sir, Octavius has already come to Rome.

act2 scene2

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Transcript of act2 scene2