Roman Republic and Caesar Doth Bear
So is he now in execution
Of any bold or noble enterprise,
However he puts on this tardy form.
This rudeness is a sauce to his good wit,
Which gives men stomach to digest his words
With better appetite.
CASSIUS
He’s still sharp when it comes to carrying out a bold or noble enterprise, though he puts on this show of stupidity. He speaks roughly, but what he says is smart, and his roughness makes other people enjoy listening to him.
300
BRUTUS
And so it is. For this time I will leave you.
Tomorrow, if you please to speak with me,
I will come home to you. Or, if you will,
Come home to me, and I will wait for you.
BRUTUS
You’re right, that’s how it is. I’ll leave you for now. If you’d like to talk tomorrow, I’ll come to your home. Or, if you don’t mind, come to my home, and I’ll wait for you.
CASSIUS
I will do so. Till then, think of the world.
CASSIUS
I’ll do so. Until then, think about the well-being of Rome.
Exit BRUTUS
BRUTUS exits.
305
310
315
Well, Brutus, thou art noble. Yet I see
Thy honorable mettle may be wrought
From that it is disposed. Therefore it is meet
That noble minds keep ever with their likes,
For who so firm that cannot be seduced?
Caesar doth bear me hard, but he loves Brutus.
If I were Brutus now and he were Cassius,
He should not humor me. I will this night,
In several hands, in at his windows throw,
As if they came from several citizens,
Writings all tending to the great opinion
That Rome holds of his name, wherein obscurely
Caesar’s ambition shall be glancèd at.
And after this let Caesar seat him sure,
For we will shake him, or worse days endure.
Well, Brutus, you’re noble. Yet I see that your honorable character can be bent from its usual shape, which proves that good men should stick only to the company of other good men, because who is so firm that he can’t be seduced? Caesar resents me, but he loves Brutus. If I were Brutus now and Brutus were me, I wouldn’t have let
Of any bold or noble enterprise,
However he puts on this tardy form.
This rudeness is a sauce to his good wit,
Which gives men stomach to digest his words
With better appetite.
CASSIUS
He’s still sharp when it comes to carrying out a bold or noble enterprise, though he puts on this show of stupidity. He speaks roughly, but what he says is smart, and his roughness makes other people enjoy listening to him.
300
BRUTUS
And so it is. For this time I will leave you.
Tomorrow, if you please to speak with me,
I will come home to you. Or, if you will,
Come home to me, and I will wait for you.
BRUTUS
You’re right, that’s how it is. I’ll leave you for now. If you’d like to talk tomorrow, I’ll come to your home. Or, if you don’t mind, come to my home, and I’ll wait for you.
CASSIUS
I will do so. Till then, think of the world.
CASSIUS
I’ll do so. Until then, think about the well-being of Rome.
Exit BRUTUS
BRUTUS exits.
305
310
315
Well, Brutus, thou art noble. Yet I see
Thy honorable mettle may be wrought
From that it is disposed. Therefore it is meet
That noble minds keep ever with their likes,
For who so firm that cannot be seduced?
Caesar doth bear me hard, but he loves Brutus.
If I were Brutus now and he were Cassius,
He should not humor me. I will this night,
In several hands, in at his windows throw,
As if they came from several citizens,
Writings all tending to the great opinion
That Rome holds of his name, wherein obscurely
Caesar’s ambition shall be glancèd at.
And after this let Caesar seat him sure,
For we will shake him, or worse days endure.
Well, Brutus, you’re noble. Yet I see that your honorable character can be bent from its usual shape, which proves that good men should stick only to the company of other good men, because who is so firm that he can’t be seduced? Caesar resents me, but he loves Brutus. If I were Brutus now and Brutus were me, I wouldn’t have let