All the conspirators save only he Did that they did in envy of great Cæsar; And common good to all, made one of them. 420 [Exeunt. NOTES TO JULIUS CÆSAR. INTRODUCTION.-This noble Tragedy was first published in the folio of 1623; but there are good grounds for believing that it was written at least as early as 1607; and Mr. Collier thinks there is sufficient reason for concluding that it was produced before the year 1603. Shakespeare derived the materials of his Play from Sir Thomas North's translation of Plutarch's Lives, which formed the chief source or historical basis of his Roman Plays. It has been remarked that, though the tragedy bears the name of Julius Cæsar, the real heroes of the piece are Brutus and Cassius. In them and in their fortunes the interest of the play centres, and their death forms its real catastrophe. At the same time it is to be noted that the death of Cæsar was the turning-point of Roman history at this period; and Shakespeare has given another proof of his remarkable insight and masterly grasp of circumstances, in making his assassination--the inevitable consequences of which he has so powerfully portrayed-the central event of his tragedy. The following chronological table indicates the sequence of events upon which the progress of the story depends: B. C. 50. Civil war between Cæsar and Pompey. 49. Pompey goes to Greece. 48. Cæsar defeats Pompey at Pharsalia; who escapes to Egypt, and is killed. 47. Cæsar returns to Rome, and embarks for Africa. 46. Pompeians defeated at Thapsus. Cæsar goes to Spain against the sons of Pompey. 45. Final defeat of the Pompeians at Munda. Cæsar made consul for ten years, and dictator for life. Cæsar returns to Rome in triumph. 44. The Republicans, jealous of Cæsar's power, conspire against him. He is murdered, March 15. Brutus and Cassius flee to the East. 43. Second Triumvirate: Octavianus, Antony, and Lepidus. Murder of Cicero. Octavianus and Antony go to the East against Brutus and Cassius. 42. Battles of Philippi, in which Brutus and Cassius are severally defeated. They make away with themselves. PART I. Heading: ANTONY, for the course. Antony, who was consul at this time, was prepared to run "in the course" at the Lupercalia, a Roman festival, held annually on the 15th of February, in honour of Lupercus, the god of fertility. The Luper cal, where the festival was held, was situated on Mons Palatinus. Line 7. The ides of March.-The ides (idus) fell on the fifteenth day of March, May, July, and October, and on the thirteenth day of each of the eight remaining months. 24. That show of love as I was wont to have. The modern idiom is either that.... that, or, such....as. In Shakespeare we often have such....that. See Note on line 253. 36. Look on both indifferently.—“Life is not dearer to me than honour: I will rather die than sacrifice it." This is that virtue mentioned in line 39. 42. What you and. other men....life. -This clause is the object of tell. What is simply the neuter relative, and not in any proper sense a compound relative that which, as it is often explained to be. What is no more a compound relative in this case than who is in the similar sentence, I cannot tell who has done this." See Dalgleish's English Grammar," Sec tion 41 (a). 44. I had as lief not be.-Had in this construction, as in I had rather, is in the conditional mood. The protasis or subjunctive clause is implied in as live to be in awe. If I had to live in awe of such a thing as I myself, I had rather not be." The use of had in the conditional for should or would have is quite common: "If thou hadst been here, my brother had not (should not have) died." CompareBrutus had rather be a villager" 74. Tongue.-Nominative to cried (line 76); repeated in it. See supra, 61, note. 78. A man of such, &c.-Supply that, to introduce this noun clause, which is in apposition with it, subject of doth amaze me. 85. Like a Colossus.-A Colossus (Greek, Koλoooós) was a generic name for any gigantic statue; but the name was specially applied to the famous Colossus of Apollo at Rhodes, which was seventy cubits high, and spanned the entrance to the harbour, so that large ships could sail 'under his huge legs." Hence the English word colossal. 91. What should be, &c. -Dr. Craik remarks that this is " a form of speech now gone out. It was a less blunt and direct way of saying, What is there? or, What may there be?" It is quite true that should enables us to express, in a deferential or polite form, an opinion which might otherwise seem harsh or presumptuous; as when we say, "I should think, &c. (if I might venture to express an opinion);" I should take the opposite view (if it were not presumptuous)." But Cassius is hardly in the mood at present for selecting a "less blunt and direct" form of speech. It appears to us to be-and it is con50. Tiber chafing.-An absolute phrase.sistent with the speaker's character and Chafing is fretting, raging against her with the context that it should be-a banks. (line 121); i.e., Brutus would rather have to be a villager. Be and live are infinitives. 59. Arrive the point proposed.-Arrive, now usually followed by at, was formerly used transitively. Compare Milton, Paradise Lost, Book ii., line 409, Ere he arrive The happy isle." strong, rather than a mild way of expressing distrust in the conjuring power of Cæsar's name. "What, by any possibility, can there be in that Cæsar? Why should there be of necessity anything in that name?" 99. Is grown, for has grown; a perfect Thus also listen is used in "Listening their tense. Grow is an intransitive verb, and fear."-Macbeth, Act ii., Scene 2. And now, Octavius, Listen great things." Julius Cæsar, Act iv., Scene 1. 61. I, as Æneas.-This I is repeated with its verb, "did I the tired Cæsar." Eneas, the Trojan hero, son of Anchises and Venus, was believed to have come to has properly no passive voice; but the complete participle active of verbs denoting motion is frequently used as an adjective with the verb "to be," to express the completion of the act. Compare Macbeth, Act I., Scene iv.,— 66 102. But it was famed.—But=(such) that not; (such) an age that it was not famed." The it is often omitted, and but becomes a negative relative, as,"There is no fireside, howsoe'er defended, But has one vacant chair."-Longfellow. But that has not. 108. There was a Brutus once.-The reference here skilfully made is to the ancestor of Marcus Brutus, viz., Lucius Junius Brutus, who was mainly instrumental in expelling the Tarquins from Rome, and so abolishing the monarchy. 111. That you do love me.-Note that in this speech the clauses are generally transposed, so that the noun clause precedes the principal clause to which it is the object. Nothing. The accusative of reference, as to nothing;" to be construed as an adverb. 66 123. These....as.-These....which, or such....as. See note on Part i., line 24. 136. As we have seen him.-Supply "look with" from the preceding line. 171. A-shouting.—This is a form of the infinitive. The prefix a is the old preposition on, an, found in a-board, o'clock, &c. Compare 66 All the court Had been, their wont, a-Maying, and returned."-Tennyson. So "He fell on sleep."-English Bible. 194. He swounded;-i.e., swooned. In Old English, verbs ending in oon and own had often a d added in the present tense, which made the past have the appearance of a double form, as drownded, swounded. Compare, "Did Cæsar swound?" (line 196); and, She swounds to see them bleed."-Hamlet, Part iii., line 304. 208. He plucked me ope his doublet.-Me is the dative of advantage. It does not refer specially to Casca, but to any one who was willing to take advantage of his act. 210. A man of any occupation.-Johnson says, A mechanic, one of the plebeians to whom he offered his throat." The construction of this sentence is peculiar. It Such an act That blurs the grace and blush of modesty." Hamlet, Part ii., line 444. That in both passages is of course a relative. 254. Doth bear me hard-Dislikes me, bears me a grudge. "If I 256. He should not humour me' were a favourite of Cæsar (as Brutus is), I should not be seduced." Not very complimentary to Brutus this; but it bears out what he has just said: "I see thy honourable metal may be wrought from that it is disposed." 275. They are vanished. -We should expect "they shall vanish;" but the present is often used for the future, especially when the event is so near as to partake of the nature of present certainty, e.g.,'The king comes here to-night." 66 Macbeth, Act i., Scene 5. The use of are vanished" in the text seems to be an emphatic way of implying Cæsar's certainty of the result. 295. The heavens themselves blaze forth, &c. There is an inversion of the thought here. The meaning is, when the heavens blaze forth, the death of princes is portended. 299. That men should fear.-It seems to me the greatest of wonders that men should fear, seeing that death is inevitable. 307. Cæsar should be a beast.-Dr. Craik remarks that we should now say, Cæsar would be a beast; and he takes this as an example of the use of shall and should in the second and third persons as a simple future, common in old writers. It should be noted, however, that Cæsar is here speaking of himself in the third person. It has therefore the force of a first person, to which should is quite appropriate though it is third person in form. 342. Stays me-Causes me to stay. The verb is usually intransitive, or when transitive means to support. In Latin many intransitive verbs acquire this transitive or causative force by reduplication or by a modification of the vowel-e.g., sto, I stand; sisto, I cause to stand: fugio, I flee; fugo, I put to flight: cado, I fall; cædo, I cause to fall, I fell. 363. A mock apt to be rendered-An insult likely to be offered you. It would give some mocker an excuse for saying. 375. Publius is come, for has come. See note on line 99, supra. PART II. Line 22. You are the first that rears your hand."That rears his hand" would be more correct; but disregard of the nice rules of grammar is characteristic of Shakespeare, especially in excited dialogue. 32. Turn preördinance, &c.---Make our firm decrees as changeable as the law of children. 33. Be not fond to think--Be not so foolish as to think. Shakespeare elsewhere uses "fond" in the sense of simple, foolish. See Richard III., Part ii., line 183. 34. Such rebel blood that.-Again, such ....that, for such....as. See note to Part i., line 253. 40. Like a cur.-He had just spoken of apposition with the pronoun. "spaniel-fawning," line 37. 42. Will he be satisfied.-Satisfied here means propitiated, or appeased. The sen-, tence may be thus paraphrased: Cæsar does no wrong himself; nor, without sufficient reason, will he excuse wrong in others. 45. Repealing-Recalling. So in line 48, freedom of repeal means a free recall. 54. If I could pray to move, &c.-If my prayers could move me, I might be moved by prayers. But I am constant, immovable as the northern star. 60. His place. Again his for its. 66. It;—namely, "that I am he." 70. Lift up Olympus ?-Do you presume to attempt to move the immovable-the firm-set abode of the gods? 74. Et tu, Brute !-Thou too, Brutus ! "The only ancient authority, I believe, for this famous exclamation is in Suetonius, I., 82, where Cæsar is made to address Brutus, Kai ov, тÉKVOV; (' And thou too, my son?')."-Craik. 80. Ambition's debt is paid-"Cæsar has paid the debt of his ambition fully; we 66 99. Must be let-blood.-To let-blood is to "bleed "in its transitive sense, to take blood from." From this compound verb Shakespeare has boldly formed a passive, "to be let-blood" to be bled. Rank is over-luxuriant, and requiring to be pruned. 100. If I myself.-Supply "must bleed," or am rank." 102. That worth as.-That....as, for such....as. See Part i., lines 24, 123, 253; ii., line 34. 104. Ye, if you. --Observe the transposition of the cases of the pronoun. Ye, which is properly nominative (A.-S. ge), is here objective. You, which is properly objective (A.-S. eów), is here nominative. For bear me hard, see note on Part i., line 254. 106. Live I a thousand years.—Live I is subjunctive = Should I live, the present for the future. The common reading omits the pronoun, and has, "Live a thousand years." 107. Apt to die-Ready for death, inclined to die. The meaning of apt followed by the infinitive is now limited to liable, as in "Apt to slip." Formerly, however, it | With, for "by." Compare, "Marred, as meant well-fitted, or qualified, as in St. you see, with traitors," infra, line 404. Paul's description of a bishop, Apt to teach" (1 Tim. iii. 2; 2 Tim. ii. 24). As a simple adjective, it now means ready" in the sense of "quick,' clear," as An apt scholar." 109. By Cæsar, and by you.-The first "beside;" the second denotes by means the means. 39 66 So the remembrance of my former love Two Gent. of Verona, Act ii., Scene 4. 121. Our arms, in strength of malice. This is the reading of the oldest copies, but it barely admits of defence or of satisfactory explanation. Pope altered the line to, Our arms, exempt from malice." Capell proposed to alter the passage thus, "To you, our swords have leaden points, Mark Antony, 179. With Até by his side.-Até was the goddess of ruin-a personification of äτn, distraction, and destruction. Come hot from Hell. -Come is an adjective, attributive to Até. 182. That this foul deed. That, for SO that." Compare, 66 And pity... Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye, Macbeth, Act i., Scene 7. 191. Passion....is catching-Weeping is infectious. Passion, which literally signifies "suffering" (Lat. patior, I suffer), is here put for the outward show of emotion. $202. The cruel issue.-This may mean either the cruel result of these men's proceedings, or the question at issue between them and the government. 203. According to the which;-namely, according to "how the people take the cruel issue." Note the use of which as a substantive; and compare,— 66 The censure of the which one." Hamlet, Part ii., line 216. 217. Brutus is ascended.-Not the passive voice. Ascended is the complete participle active, used as an adjective complement to Our arms no strength of malice: and our" is." This construction generally occurs hearts," &c. Mr. Collier's emendation, accepted by Dr. 66 66 Our arms, in strength of welcome." Steeven's explanation, that Brutus meant strong in the deed of malice they have just performed," is quite untenable; for Brutus was especially careful that the deed should be ascribed to patriotism, and not to malice. Immediately afterwards, he speaks of himself as "I, that did love Cæsar when I struck him.' The only possible explanation of the words, if we are to believe that Shakespeare wrote them as they stand, is, "Our arms, strong by reason of the malice which the deed will excite against us." " 149. It shall advantage....us-It shall benefit us. The verb to advantage is now rarely used. We have it, however, in the English Bible (1 Cor. xv. 32). 170. The limbs of men.-This also is supposed to be a corrupt reading, of which no satisfactory emendation has been proposed. The most feasible correction is 'loins of men," proposed by Mr. Collier. 176. Quartered with the hands of war. 66 in the case of intransitive verbs of motion -is come, is returned, is gone, is arrived, &c. Its occurrence with a verb usually transitive (a verb, therefore, which has both voices) makes its meaning more evident. There is an active participle ascended, from the intransitive verb; and a passive participle ascended, from the transitive verb. The former (called the complete participle active) represents the action as finished, completed; the latter, (called simply the passive participle) represents the action as received, suffered. Thus, Our ascended Redeemer " means our Redeemer who has ascended; An ascended mountain" means a mountain which has been ascended. The Redeemer is ascended" is active and intransitive, and predicates the completion of the act by the agent ; The mountain is ascended" is passive and transitive, and predicates the receiving of the act by the object. It is only intransitive verbs (or verbs used intransitively), denoting motion, that admit of this use of the complete participle: come, go, return, arrive, escape, ascend, mount, finish, do (in the sense of finish), rise. 66 66 |