Vol. Not so, my lord. Bru. Nay, I am sure it is, Volumnius. Good Volumnius, [Low alarums. Thou know'st, that we two went to school together; Hold thou my sword-hilts whilst I run on it. [Alarum still. Cli. Fly, fly, my lord! there is no tarrying here. Bru. Farewell to you ;-and you;-and you, Volumnius.— you;—and [Shaking hands severally®. Strato, thou hast been all this while asleep; Hath almost ended his life's history. Night hangs upon mine eyes; my bones would rest, That have but labour'd to attain this hour. Cli. Fly, my lord, fly! Bru. [Alarum. Cry within; Fly, fly, fly! Hence! I will follow. [Exeunt CLITUS, DARDANIUS, and VOLUMNIUS. I pr'ythee, Strato, stay thou by thy lord'. Thy life hath had some smatch of honour in it: 46 6 Shaking hands severally.] This stage-direction is in the corr. fo. 1632 only. Having sayd so, he prayed I pr'ythee, Strato, stay thou by thy lord.] everie man to shift for them selves, and then he went a litle aside with two or three only, among the which Strato was one, with whom he came first acquainted by the studie of rethoricke. He came as neere to him as he coulde, and taking his sword by the hilts with both his hands, and falling downe upon the poynt of it, ran him selfe through. Others say, that not he, but Strato (at his request) held the sword in his hand, and turned his head aside, and that Brutus fell downe upon it, and so ranne him selfe through, and dyed presently." North's "Plutarch," 1579, p. 1080. Stra. Give me your hand first fare you well, my lord. Bru. Farewell, good Strato.-Cæsar, now be still : I kill'd not thee with half so good a will. [He runs on his sword, and dies. Alarum. Retreat. Enter OCTAVIUS, ANTONY, MESSALA, LUCILIUS, and their Army. Oct. What man is that? Mes. My master's man.-Strato, where is thy master? For Brutus only overcame himself, And no man else hath honour by his death. Luc. So Brutus should be found.-I thank thee, Brutus, That thou hast prov'd Lucilius' saying true. Oct. All that serv'd Brutus, I will entertain them. Fellow, wilt thou bestow thy time with me? Stra. Ay, if Messala will prefer me to you. Mes. How died my master, Strato ? Stra. I held the sword, and he did run on it. Mes. Octavius, then take him to follow thee, That did the latest service to my master. Ant. This was the noblest Roman of them all: Did that they did in envy of great Cæsar; And say He, only, in a GENEROUS honest thought up, Or common good to all,] It is "general honest thought" in the old copies, and in the next line " And common good," but such could scarcely have been the language of Shakespeare, and the corr. fo. 1632 presents us with two emendations, which appear in our text, avoiding an absurd piece of tautology, and much improving the sense of the passage, by attributing to Brutus the generous (not general) motive of attempting the common good of his countrymen. 9 And say to all the world, "This was a man!"] This passage bears a striking resemblance to a portion of Drayton's "Barons' Wars," first printed under that title, and in that form of stanza, in 1603: Mr. Craik, in his "English of Shakespeare," p. 286, falls into Malone's error of supposing that the edition in which the character of Mortimer first occurs was printed in 1608. The point is more particularly illustrated in our Introduction to this tragedy. Drayton com 10 Oct. According to his virtue let us use him, [Exeunt. menced his poetical career in 1591: at least such is the date of his earliest known work, "The Harmonie of the Church," and in Mr. P. Cunningham's interesting volume (printed for the Shakespeare Society), "Extracts from the Revels' Accounts," is stated the novel fact, in connexion with Drayton's history, that he was in the pay of Prince Henry, being allowed an annuity of 107. per annum. 10 With all respect, and rites of burial.] Plutarch thus concludes his "Life of Brutus," in North's translation :-"Now Antonius having found Brutus bodie, he caused it to be wrapped up in one of the richest cote armors he had. Afterwards also, Antonius understanding that this cote armor was stollen, he put the theefe to death that had stollen it, and sent the ashes of his bodie unto Servilia his mother. And for Porcia, Brutus wife, Nicolaus, the philosopher, and Valerius Maximus doe wryte that she, determining to kill her selfe (her parents and frendes carefullie looking to kepe her from it) tooke hotte burning coles, and cast them in her mouth, and kept her mouth so close, that she choked her selfe. There was a letter of Brutus found wrytten to his frendes, complayning of their negligence, that his wife being sicke, they would not helpe her, but suffred her to kill her selfe, choosing to dye, rather than languish in paine. Thus it appeareth that Nicolaus knewe not well that time, sith the letter (at least if it were Brutus letter) doth plainly declare the disease and love of this lady, and also the maner of her death." Edit. 1579, p. 1080. |
