Serving the
republic or personal ambition? This question arises to all protgonists, Brutus,
Cesar, Anthony.
They are
almost arranged along philosophic stances: from being unmovable like the north
star, to struggling stoic Brutus and Epicurean Cassius.
So needless
to say, that – reading it for the fifth time or so – I still enjoyed this a
lot.
“Marcus Brutus:
(…) If it
be aught toward the general good,
Set honour
in one eye, and death I’th’other,
And I will
look on both indifferently;
For, let
the gods so speed me as I love
The name of
honour more than I fear death.” (Shakespeare, 1992, p.584).
“Cassius:
(…) I was
born free as Caesar; so were you:
We both
have fed as well; and we can both
Endure the
winter’s cold as well as he.
(…) and
this man
Is now
become a god; and Cassius is
A wretched
creature and must bend his body,
If Caesar
carelessly but nod on him.
(…)
Men at some
time are masters of their fates:
The fault,
dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in
ourselves, that we are underlings.” (Shakespeare, 1992, p.584).
“Cassius:
(…) But
life, being weary of these worldly bars,
Never lacks
power to dismiss itself.
If I know
this, know all the world besides,
That part
of tyranny that I do bear
I can shake
off at pleasure.” (Shakespeare, 1992, p.587).
“Casca:
O, he sits
high in all the people’s hearts:
And that
which would appear offence in us,
His
countenance, like richest alchemy,
Will change
to virtue and to worthiness.” (Shakespeare, 1992, p.588).
“Marcus
Brutus:
It must be
by his death: and, for my part,
I know no
personal cause to spurn him,
But for the
general. He would be crown’d.” (Shakespeare, 1992, p.588).
“Marcus
Brutus:
(…) and
what other oath
Than
honesty to honesty engaged,
That this
shall be, or we will fall for it?
(…) unto
bad causes swear
Such
creatures as men doubt: but do not stain
The even
virtue of our enterprise,
Nor th’insuppressive
mettle of our spirits,
To think that
or our cause or our performance
Did need an
oath.” (Shakespeare, 1992, p.589).
“Marcus
Brutus:
(…) This
shall make
Our purpose
necessary, and not envious:
Which so
appearing to the common eyes,
We shall be
call’d purgers, not murderers.” (Shakespeare, 1992, p.590).
“Decius
Brutus:
(…) I can o’ersway
him; for he loves to hear
That
unicorns may be betray’d with trees,
And bears
with glasses, elephants with holes,
Lions with
toils, and men with flatterers:
But when I
tell him he hates flatterers,
He says he
does, - being then the most flattered.” (Shakespeare, 1992, p.590).
“Portia:
(…) upon my knees,
I charm
you, by my once-commended beauty,
By all your
vows of love, and that great vow
Which did
incorporate and make us one,
That you
unfold to me, yourself, your half,
Why you are
heavy?
(…) Am I
yourself
But, as it
were, in sort of limitation, -
To keep
with you at meals, comfort your bed,
And talk to
you sometimes? Dwell I but in the suburbs
Of your
good pleasure? If it be no more
Portia is
Brutus’ harlot, not his wife.” (Shakespeare, 1992, p.591).
“Julius
Caesar:
What can be avoided
Whose end
is purposed by the mighty gods?
Yet Caesar
shall go forth; for these predictions
Are to the
world in general as to Caesar.
Calphurnia:
When
beggars die, there are no comets seen;
The heavens
themselves blaze forth the death of princes.
Julius
Caesar: Cowards die many times before their deaths;
The valiant
never taste of death but once.” (Shakespeare, 1992, p.592).
“Julius
Caesar:
And tell
them that I will not come today:
Cannot, is
false; and that I dare not, falser:
I will not
come to-day.
(…) The
cause is in my will, - I will not come;
That is
enough to satisfy the senate.” (Shakespeare, 1992, p.592).
“Julius
Caesar:
I could be
well moved, if I were as you;
If I could
pray to move, praers would move me:
But I am
constant as the northern star,
Of whose
true fixt and resting quality
There is no
fellow in the firmament.” (Shakespeare, 1992, p.594).
“Cassius:
Why, he
that cuts off twenty years of life
Cuts off so
many years of fearing death.” (Shakespeare, 1992, p.595).
“Marcus
Brutus:
(…) If
there be any in this assembly, any
Dear friend
of Caesar’s, to him I say, that Brutus’
Love of
Caesar was no less than his. If, then, that
friend demand
why Brutus rose against Caesar,
this is my
answer, - not that I loved Caesar less,
but that I
loved Rome more. Had you rather
Caesar were
living, and die all slaves, than that
Caesar were
dead, to live all free men? As aesar
Loved me, I
weep for him; as he was fortunate, I
Rejoice at
it; as he was valiant, I honour him: but,
As he was
ambitious, I slew him. There is tears
For his
love; joy for his fortune; honour for his
Valour; and
death for his ambition.
(…)
I have done
no more
To Caesar
than you shall do to Brutus.” (Shakespeare, 1992, p.597).
“Marcus
Antonius:
The evil
that men do lives after them;
The good is
often interred with their bones;
So let it
be with Caesar. The noble Brutus
Hath told
you Caesar was ambitious;
If it were
so, it was a grievous fault;
And
grievously hath Caesar answer’d it.
(…) I
thrice presented him a kingly crown,
Which he
did thrice refuse: was this ambition?
Yet Brutus
says he was ambitious;
And, sure,
he is an honourable man.
(…) But
here’s a parchment with the seal of Caesar, -
I found it
in his closet, - ‘tis is will:
Let but the
commons bear his testament.
(…)Have
patience, gentle friends, I must not read it;
(…)I have o’ersgt
myself to tell you of it.
I fear I
wrong the honourable men
Whose
daggers have stabb’d Caesar; I do fear it.” (Shakespeare, 1992, p.598).
“Marcus
Brutus:
How he
received you, let me be resolved.
Lucilius:
With courtesy
and with respect enough;
But not
with such familiar instances,
Nor with
such free and friendy conference,
As he hath
used of old.
Thou hast
described
A hot friend
cooling; ever note, Lucilius,
When love
begins to sicken and decay,
It useth an
enforced ceremony.” (Shakespeare, 1992, p.601).
“Marcus
Brutus:
There is no
terror, Cassius, in your threats;
For I am
arm’d so strong in honesty,
That they
pass by me as idle wind,
Which I
respect not.” (Shakespeare, 1992, p.602).
“Marcus
Brutus:
Do what you
will, dishonor shall be humour.
O Cassius,
you are yoked with a lamb
That
carries anger as the flint bears fire;
Who, much
enforced, shows a hasty park,
And
straight is cold again.” (Shakespeare, 1992, p.603).
“Strato:
For Brutus
only overcame himself,
And no man
else hath honour by his death.” (Shakespeare, 1992, p.610).
“Marcus
Antonius:
This was
the noblest Roman of them all: All the conspirators, save only he,
Did that
they did in envy of great Caesar;
He only, in
a general honest thought,
And common
good to all, made one of them.
His life
was gentle; and the elements
So mixt in
him, that Nature might stand up
And say to
all the world, ‘This was a man!’” (Shakespeare, 1992, p.610).
