Julius Casear - Act III, Scene 2
ANTONY. Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!
I come to bury
Caesar, not to praise him.
The evil that men
do lives after them,
The good is oft
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.
Here, under leave
of Brutus and the rest-
For Brutus is an
honorable man;
So are they all,
all honorable men-
Come I 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.
He hath brought
many captives home to Rome,
Whose ransoms did
the general coffers fill.
Did this in Caesar
seem ambitious?
When that the poor
have cried, Caesar hath wept;
Ambition should be
made of sterner stuff:
Yet Brutus says he
was ambitious,
And Brutus is an
honorable man.
You all did see
that on the Lupercal
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
honorable man.
I speak not to
disprove what Brutus spoke,
But here I am to
speak what I do know.
You all did love
him once, not without cause;
What cause
withholds you then to mourn for him?
O judgement, thou
art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost
their reason. Bear with me;
My heart is in the
coffin there with Caesar,
And I must pause
till it come back to me.
FIRST CITIZEN.
Methinks there is much reason in his sayings.
SECOND CITIZEN. If
thou consider rightly of the matter,
Caesar has had
great wrong.
THIRD CITIZEN. Has
he, masters?
I fear there will
a worse come in his place.
FOURTH CITIZEN.
Mark'd ye his words? He would not take the
crown;
Therefore 'tis
certain he was not ambitious.
FIRST CITIZEN. If it
be found so, some will dear abide it.
SECOND CITIZEN. Poor
soul, his eyes are red as fire with
weeping.
THIRD CITIZEN.
There's not a nobler man in Rome than Antony.
FOURTH CITIZEN. Now
mark him, he begins again to speak.
ANTONY. But yesterday the word of Caesar
might
Have stood against
the world. Now lies he there,
And none so poor to
do him reverence.
O masters! If I
were disposed to stir
Your hearts and
minds to mutiny and rage,
I should do Brutus
wrong and Cassius wrong,
Who, you all know,
are honorable men.
I will not do them
wrong; I rather choose
To wrong the dead,
to wrong myself and you,
Than I will wrong
such honorable men.
But here's a
parchment with the seal of Caesar;
I found it in his
closet, 'tis his will.
Let but the
commons hear this testament-
Which, pardon me,
I do not mean to read-
And they would go
and kiss dead Caesar's wounds
And dip their
napkins in his sacred blood,
Yea, beg a hair of
him for memory,
And, dying,
mention it within their wills,
Bequeathing it as
a rich legacy
Unto their issue.
FOURTH CITIZEN.
We'll hear the will. Read it, Mark Antony.
ALL. The will, the
will! We will hear Caesar's will.
ANTONY. Have patience, gentle friends, I must
not read it;
It is not meet you
know how Caesar loved you.
You are not wood,
you are not stones, but men;
And, being men,
hearing the will of Caesar,
It will inflame
you, it will make you mad.
'Tis good you know
not that you are his heirs,
For if you should,
O, what would come of it!
FOURTH CITIZEN. Read
the will; we'll hear it, Antony.
You shall read us
the will, Caesar's will.
ANTONY. Will you be patient? Will you stay
awhile?
I have o'ershot
myself to tell you of it.
I fear I wrong the
honorable men
Whose daggers have
stabb'd Caesar; I do fear it.
FOURTH CITIZEN. They
were traitors. Honorable men!
ALL. The will! The
testament!
SECOND CITIZEN. They
were villains, murtherers. The will!
Read the will!
ANTONY. You will compel me then to read the
will?
Then make a ring
about the corse of Caesar,
And let me show
you him that made the will.
Shall I descend?
And will you give me leave?
ALL. Come down.
SECOND CITIZEN.
Descend.
He comes down
from the pulpit.
THIRD CITIZEN. You shall have leave.
FOURTH CITIZEN. A
ring, stand round.
FIRST CITIZEN. Stand
from the hearse, stand from the body.
SECOND CITIZEN. Room
for Antony, most noble Antony.
ANTONY. Nay, press not so upon me, stand far
off.
ALL. Stand back;
room, bear back!
ANTONY. If you have tears, prepare to shed
them now.
You all do know
this mantle. I remember
The first time
ever Caesar put it on;
'Twas on a
summer's evening, in his tent,
That day he
overcame the Nervii.
Look, in this
place ran Cassius' dagger through;
See what a rent
the envious Casca made;
Through this the
well-beloved Brutus stabb'd;
And as he pluck'd
his cursed steel away,
Mark how the blood
of Caesar follow'd it,
As rushing out of
doors, to be resolved
If Brutus so
unkindly knock'd, or no;
For 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;
For when the noble
Caesar saw him stab,
Ingratitude, more
strong than traitors' arms,
Quite vanquish'd
him. Then burst his mighty heart,
And, in his mantle
muffling up his face,
Even at the base
of Pompey's statue,
Which all the
while ran blood, great Caesar fell.
O, what a fall was
there, my countrymen!
Then I, and you,
and all of us fell down,
Whilst bloody
treason flourish'd over us.
O, now you weep,
and I perceive you feel
The dint of pity.
These are gracious drops.
Kind souls, what
weep you when you but behold
Our Caesar's
vesture wounded? Look you here,
Here is himself,
marr'd, as you see, with traitors.
FIRST CITIZEN. O
piteous spectacle!
SECOND CITIZEN. O
noble Caesar!
THIRD CITIZEN. O
woeful day!
FOURTH CITIZEN. O
traitors villains!
FIRST CITIZEN. O
most bloody sight!
SECOND CITIZEN. We
will be revenged.
ALL. Revenge! About!
Seek! Burn! Fire! Kill!
Slay! Let not a
traitor live!
ANTONY. Stay, countrymen.
FIRST CITIZEN. Peace
there! Hear the noble Antony.
SECOND CITIZEN.
We'll hear him, we'll follow him, we'll die
with
him.
ANTONY. Good friends, sweet friends, let me
not stir you up
To such a sudden
flood of mutiny.
They that have
done this deed are honorable.
What private
griefs they have, alas, I know not,
That made them do
it. They are wise and honorable,
And will, no
doubt, with reasons answer you.
I come not,
friends, to steal away your hearts.
I am no orator, as
Brutus is;
But, as you know
me all, a plain blunt man,
That love my
friend, and that they know full well
That gave me
public leave to speak of him.
For I have neither
wit, nor words, nor worth,
Action, nor
utterance, nor the power of speech,
To stir men's blood.
I only speak right on;
I tell you that
which you yourselves do know;
Show you sweet
Caesar's wounds, poor dumb mouths,
And bid them speak
for me. But were I Brutus,
And Brutus Antony,
there were an Antony
Would ruffle up
your spirits and put a tongue
In every wound of
Caesar that should move
The stones of Rome to rise and mutiny.
ALL. We'll mutiny.
FIRST CITIZEN. We'll
burn the house of Brutus.
THIRD CITIZEN. Away,
then! Come, seek the conspirators.
ANTONY. Yet hear me, countrymen; yet hear me
speak.
ALL. Peace, ho! Hear
Antony, most noble Antony!
ANTONY. Why, friends, you go to do you know
not what.
Wherein hath
Caesar thus deserved your loves?
Alas, you know
not; I must tell you then.
You have forgot
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 gives,
To every several
man, seventy-five drachmas.
SECOND CITIZEN. Most
noble Caesar! We'll revenge his death.
THIRD CITIZEN. O
royal Caesar!
ANTONY. Hear me with patience.
ALL. Peace, ho!
ANTONY. Moreover, he hath left you all his
walks,
His private
arbors, and new-planted orchards,
On this side Tiber; he hath left them you,
And to your heirs
forever- common pleasures,
To walk abroad and
recreate yourselves.
Here was a Caesar!
When comes such another?
FIRST CITIZEN.
Never, never. Come, away, away!
We'll burn his
body in the holy place
And with the
brands fire the traitors' houses.
Take up the body.
SECOND CITIZEN. Go
fetch fire.
THIRD CITIZEN. Pluck
down benches.
FOURTH CITIZEN.
Pluck down forms, windows, anything.
Exeunt Citizens
with the body.
ANTONY. Now let it work. Mischief, thou art
afoot,
Take thou what
course thou wilt.