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Next: Julius Caesar, Act 1, Scene 3 _________ Explanatory Notes for Act 1, Scene 2 From Julius Caesar. Ed. Henry Norman Hudson. New York: Ginn and Co., 1908. 3. Antonius': The 'Antonio's' of the Folios is the Italian form with which both actors and audience would be more familiar. So in IV, iii, 102, the Folios read "dearer than Pluto's (i.e. Plutus') mine." Antonius was at this time Consul, as Cæsar himself also was. Each Roman gens had its own priesthood, and also its peculiar religious rites. The priests of the Julian gens (so named from Iulus the son of Æneas) had lately been advanced to the same rank with those of the god Lupercus; and Antony was at this time at their head. It was probably as chief of the Julian Luperci that he officiated on this occasion, stripped, as the old stage direction has it, "for the course." 8-9. It was an old custom at these festivals for the priests, naked except for a girdle about the loins, to run through the streets of the city, waving in the hand a thong of goat's hide, and striking with it such women as offered themselves for the blow, in the belief that this would prevent or avert "the sterile curse." Cæsar was at this time childless; his only daughter, Julia, married to Pompey the Great, having died some years before, upon the birth of her first child, who also died soon after. 19. Coleridge has a remark on this line, which, whether true to the subject or not, is very characteristic of the writer: "If my ear does not deceive me, the metre of this line was meant to express that sort of mild philosophic contempt, characterizing Brutus even in his first casual speech."--soothsayer. By derivation, 'truth teller.' 24. Sennet: This is an expression occurring repeatedly in old stage directions. It is of uncertain origin (but cf. 'signature' in musical notation) and denotes a peculiar succession of notes on a trumpet, used, as here, to signal the march of a procession. 35. You hold me too hard on the bit, like a strange rider who is doubtful of his steed, and not like one who confides in his faithful horse, and so rides him with an easy rein. See note on l. 310. 36. Caius Cassius Longinus had married Junia, a sister of Brutus. Both had lately stood for the chief prætorship of the city, and Brutus, through Cæsar's favor, had won it; though Cassius was at the same time elected one of the sixteen prætors or judges of the city. This is said to have produced a coldness between Brutus and Cassius, so that they did not speak to each other, till this extraordinary flight of patriotism brought them together. 40. passions of some difference: conflicting emotions. 41. only proper to myself: belonging exclusively to myself. 42. give some soil to: to a certain extent tarnish.--behaviours. Shakespeare often uses abstract nouns in the plural. This usage is common in Carlyle. Here, however, and elsewhere in Shakespeare, as in Much Ado about Nothing, II, iii, 100, the plural 'behaviours' may be regarded as denoting the particular acts which make up what we call 'behavior.' See Clar. 48. mistook: The en of the termination of the past participle of strong verbs is often dropped, and when the resulting word might be mistaken for the infinitive, the form of the past tense is frequently substituted.--passion. Shakespeare uses 'passion' for any feeling, sentiment, or emotion, whether painful or pleasant. So in Henry V, II, ii. 132: "Free from gross passion or of mirth or anger." 49. By means whereof: and because of my mistaking it. 'Means' was sometimes used in the sense of 'cause.' 53. Except by an image or 'shadow' (l. 68; cf. Venus and Adonis, 162) reflected from a mirror, or from water, or some polished surface. Cf. Troilus and Cressida, III, iii, 105-111. 53. Except by an image or 'shadow' (l. 68; cf. Venus and Adonis, 162) reflected from a mirror, or from water, or some polished surface. Cf. Troilus and Cressida, III, iii, 105-111. 59. Where: The adverb is here used of occasion, not of place.--of the best respect: held in the highest estimation. 60.: Except immortal Cæsar. Keen, double-edged irony. 71. jealous on: suspicious of. In Shakespeare we find 'on' and 'of' used indifferently, even in the same sentence, as in Hamlet, IV, v, 200. Cf. Macbeth, I, iii, 84; Sonnets, LXXXIV, 14. See Abbott, § 181. 72. laughter: laughing-stock. Although most modern editors have adopted Rowe's emendation, 'laugher,' the reading of the Folios is perfectly intelligible and thoroughly Shakespearian. Cf. IV, iii, 114. 73. To stale: to make common by frequent repetition, to cheapen. So again in IV, i, 38. Cf. Antony and Cleopatra, II, ii, 240. 74. 'To protest' is used by Shakespeare in the sense of 'to profess,' 'to declare,' 'to vow,' as in All's Well that Ends Well, IV, ii, 28, and A Midsummer Night's Dream, I, i, 89. The best commentary on ll. 72-74 is Hamlet, I, iii, 64-65: "But do not dull thy palm with entertainment Of each new-hatch'd, unfledged comrade." 87. "Warburton would read 'death' for 'both'; but I prefer the old text. There are here three things, the public good, the individual Brutus' honour, and his death. The latter two so balanced each other, that he could decide for the first by equipoise; nay--the thought growing--that honour had more weight than death."--Coleridge.--indifferently: without emotion. 'Impartially.'--Clar. 88. speed: prosper, bless. So in II, iv, 41. "The notion of 'haste' which now belongs to the word is apparently a derived sense. It is thus curiously parallel to the Latin expedio, with which some would connect it etymologically.... The proverb 'more haste, worse speed' shows that haste and speed are not the same."--Clar. 91. favour: appearance. The word has often this meaning in Shakespeare. Cf. 'well-favored,' 'ill-favored,' and such a provincial expression as 'the child favors his father.' 95. lief: readily. The pronunciation of the f as v brings out the quibble. From the Anglo-Saxon léof, 'dear.' See Murray. 101. chafing: See Skeat for the interesting development of the meanings of the verb 'chafe (Fr. chauffer),' which Shakespeare uses twenty times, sometimes transitively, sometimes intransitively. 109. hearts of controversy: controversial hearts, emulation. In Shakespeare are many similar constructions and expressions. Cf. 'passions of some difference,' l. 40, and 'mind of love' for 'loving mind,' The Merchant of Venice, II, viii, 42. 110. arrive the point: In sixteenth and early seventeenth century literature the omission of the preposition with verbs of motion is common. Cf. 'pass the streets' in I, i, 44. 119. In Elizabethan literature 'fever' is often used for sickness in general as well as for what is now specifically called a fever. Cæsar had three several campaigns in Spain at different periods of his life, and the text does not show which of these Shakespeare had in mind. One passage in Plutarch indicates that Cæsar was first taken with the 'falling-sickness' during his third campaign, which closed with the great battle of Munda, March 17, B.C. 45. See note, p. 25, l. 252, and quotation from Plutarch, p. 26, l. 268. 122. The image, very bold, somewhat forced, and not altogether happy, is of a cowardly soldier running away from his flag. 123. bend: look. So in Antony and Cleopatra, II, ii, 213: "tended her i' the eyes, And made their bends adornings." In Shakespeare the verb 'bend,' when used of the eyes, has usually the sense of 'direct,' as in Hamlet, II, i, 100: "bended their light on me"; III, iv, 117: "That you do bend your eye on vacancy." 124. his: its. 'Its' was just creeping into use at the close of the sixteenth century. It does not occur once in the King James version of the Bible as originally printed; it occurs ten times in the First Folio, generally in the form 'it's'; it occurs only three times in Milton's poetry. See Masson's Essay on Milton's English; Abbott, § 228; Sweet's New English Grammar, § 1101. 129. temper: temperament, constitution. "The lean and wrinkled Cassius" venting his spite at Cæsar, by ridiculing his liability to sickness and death, is charmingly characteristic. The mighty Cæsar, with all his electric energy of mind and will, was of a rather fragile and delicate make; and his countenance, as we have it in authentic busts, is of almost feminine beauty. Cicero, who did not love him at all, in one of his Letters applies to him the Greek word that is used for 'miracle' or 'wonder' in the New Testament; the English of the passage being, "This miracle (monster?) is a thing of terrible energy, swiftness, diligence." 135. Observe the force of 'narrow' here; as if Cæsar were grown so enormously big that even the world seemed a little thing under him. Some while before this, the Senate had erected a bronze statue of Cæsar, standing on a globe, and inscribed to "Cæsar the Demigod," but this inscription Cæsar erased. 136. It is only a legend that the bronze Colossus of Rhodes bestrode the entrance to the famous harbor. The story probably arose from the statement that the figure, which represented Helios, the national deity of the Rhodians, was so high that a ship might sail between its legs. 140. In Shakespeare are many such allusions to the tenets of the old astrology and the belief in planetary influence upon the fortunes and characters of men which Scott describes in the Introduction to Guy Mannering and makes the atmosphere of the story. 142. should be: can be. So in The Tempest, I, ii, 387: "Where should this music be? i' the air or the earth?" 146-147. The allusion is to the old custom of muttering certain names, supposed to have in them "the might of magic spells," in raising or conjuring up spirits. 152. the great flood: By this an ancient Roman would understand the universal deluge of classical mythology, from which only Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha escaped alive. The story is told in Ovid's Metamorphoses, I. Shakespeare mentions Deucalion twice. 155. walks: The reasons why Rowe's emendation, 'walls,' is almost universally accepted, are that 'walls' would be easily corrupted into 'walks' from the nearness of 'talk'd,' and that there is a disagreeable assonance in 'talk'd' and 'walks' in successive lines. But 'walks' is picturesque and poetical; compared with it, 'walls' is commonplace and obvious. Cf. Paradise Lost, IV, 586. 156. A play upon 'Rome' and 'room,' which appear to have been sounded more alike in Shakespeare's time than they are now. So again in III, i, 289-290: "A dangerous Rome, No Rome of safety for Octavius yet." Cf. also King John, III, i, 180. 159. The allusion is to Lucius Junius Brutus, who bore a leading part in driving out the Tarquins and in turning the kingdom into a republic. Afterwards, as consul, he condemned his own sons to death for attempting to restore the kingdom. The Marcus Junius Brutus of the play, according to Plutarch, supposed himself to be descended from him. His mother, Servilia, also derived her lineage from Servilius Ahala, who slew Spurius Mælius for aspiring to royalty. Merivale remarks that "the name of Brutus forced its possessor into prominence as soon as royalty began to be discussed."--brook'd: endured, tolerated. See Murray for the history of this word. 160. eternal: Johnson suggested 'infernal.' Dr. Wright (Clar.) points out that in three plays printed in 1600 Shakespeare uses 'infernal,' but substitutes 'eternal' in Julius Cæsar, Hamlet, and Othello, in obedience probably to the popular Puritan agitation against profanity on the stage. This has been used as evidence to determine dates of composition. See Introduction, page xx. Cf. with this use of 'eternal' the old Yankee term 'tarnal' in such expressions as 'tarnal scamp,' 'tarnal shame,' etc. 162. am nothing jealous: do not doubt. Cf. l. 71. 'Jealous' and 'zealous' are etymologically the same word. See Skeat. 163. work me to: prevail upon me to do. Cf. _Hamlet_, IV, vii, 64.--/aim:/ guess. Cf. The Two Gentlemen of Verona, III, i, 28. Similarly with the verb in Romeo and Juliet, I, i, 211; Othello, III, iii, 223. 171. 'To chew' is, literally, in the Latin equivalent, 'to ruminate.' Cf. As You Like It, IV, iii, 102: "Chewing the food of sweet and bitter fancy." In Bacon's Essays, Of Studies, we have, with reference to books: "Some few are to be chewed and digested." So in Lyly's Euphues: "Philantus went into the fields to walk there, either to digest his choler, or chew upon his melancholy." 174. these ... as: See note, l. 34; Abbott, §§ 112, 280. 177. In Troilus and Cressida, III, iii, 256, Thersites says of the wit of Ajax: "It lies as coldly in him as fire in a flint, which will not show without knocking." The same figure is found in the description which Brutus gives of his unimpassioned nature, IV, iii, 112-114. 181. proceeded: happened, come to pass. So in All's Well that Ends Well, IV, ii, 62.--worthy note. Cf. All's Well that Ends Well, III, v, 104. For the ellipsis of the preposition, see Abbott, § 198 a. 186. One of the marked physical characteristics of the albinotic ferret is the red or pink eye. Shakespeare turns the noun 'ferret' into an adjective. The description of Cicero is purely imaginary; but the angry spot on Cæsar's brow, Calpurnia's pale cheek, and Cicero with fire in his eyes when kindled by opposition in the Senate, make an exceedingly vivid picture. 192-195. "Another time when Cæsar's friends complained unto him of Antonius and Dolabella, that they pretended some mischief towards him, he answered them again, As for those fat men, and smooth-combed heads, quoth he, I never reckon of them; but these pale visaged and carrion lean people, I fear them most; meaning Brutus and Cassius."--Plutarch, Julius Cæsar. There are similar passages in Plutarch's Life of Brutus and in the Life of Marcus Antonius. Cf. Antony and Cleopatra, III, xi, 37. Falstaff's famous cry was for 'spare men.' See 2 Henry IV, III, ii, 288. 'Sleek-headed' recalls Lamb's wish that the baby son of the tempestuous Hazlitt should be "like his father, with something of a better temper and a smoother head of hair." 197. well given: well disposed. So in 2 Henry VI, III, i, 72. 203. he loves no plays: "In his house they did nothing but feast, dance, and masque; and himself passed away the time in hearing of foolish plays, and in marrying these players, tumblers, jesters, and such sort of people."--Plutarch, Marcus Antonius. 204. The power of music is repeatedly celebrated by Shakespeare, and sometimes in strains that approximate the classical hyperboles about Orpheus, Amphion, and Arion. What is here said of Cassius has an apt commentary in The Merchant of Venice, V, 1, 83-85:
The man that hath no music in himself, 217. sad: The word is used here probably in its early sense of 'weary' (as in Middle English) or 'resolute' (as in Chaucer and old Ballads). In 2 Henry IV, V, i, 92, is the expression "a jest with a sad brow," where 'sad' evidently means 'wise,' 'sage.' 249. soft! This is an elliptical use of the adverb 'soft' and was much used as an exclamation for arresting or retarding the speed of a person or thing; meaning about the same as 'hold!' 'stay!' or 'not too fast!' So in Othello, V, ii, 338: "Soft you; a word or two before you go"; and The Merchant of Venice, IV, i, 320: "Soft! The Jew shall have all justice; soft! no haste." 252. falling-sickness: An old English name for epilepsy (Lat. morbus caducus, German fallende Sucht) used by North in translating Plutarch. Another form of the word is 'falling-evil,' also used by North (see quotation, p. 26, l. 268). It is an interesting fact that the best authorities allow that Napoleon suffered from epileptic seizures towards the close of his life. 256. tag-rag people: Cf. 'the tag' in Coriolanus, III, i, 248. 259. true: honest. Shakespeare frequently uses 'true' in this sense, especially as opposed to 'thief.' Cf. Cymbeline, II, iii, 76; Venus and Adonis, 724: "Rich preys make true men thieves." 261. Marry: The common Elizabethan exclamation of surprise, or asseveration, corrupted from the name of the Virgin Mary. 263. me: The ethical dative. Cf. III, iii, 18; The Merchant of Venice, I, iii, 85; Romeo and Juliet, III, i, 6. See Abbott, § 220.--doublet. This was the common English name of a man's outer body-garment. Shakespeare dresses his Romans like Elizabethan Englishmen (cf. II, i, 73-74), but the expression 'doublet-collar' occurs in North's Plutarch (see quotation in note on ll. 268-270).--And: if. For 'and' in this sense, see Murray, and Abbott, § 101. 264. a man of any occupation: This probably means not only a mechanic or user of cutting-tools, but also a man of business and of action, as distinguished from a gentleman of leisure, or an idler. 265-266. to hell among the rogues: The early English drama abounds in examples of such historical confusion. For example, in the Towneley Miracle Plays Noah's wife swears by the Virgin Mary. 268-270. "Thereupon Cæsar rising departed home to his house; and, tearing open his doublet-collar, making his neck bare, he cried out aloud to his friends, that his throat was ready to offer to any man that would come and cut it.... Afterwards, to excuse his folly, he imputed it to his disease, saying that their wits are not perfect which have this disease of the falling-evil."--Plutarch, Julius Cæsar. 275-281. A charming invention, though in his Life of Cicero Plutarch refers to the orator's nicknames, 'Grecian' and 'scholer,' due to his ability to "declaim in Greek." Cicero had a sharp, agile tongue, and was fond of using it; and nothing was more natural than that he should snap off some keen, sententious sayings, prudently veiling them, however, in a foreign language from all but those who might safely understand them.--Greek to me. 'Greek,' often 'heathen Greek,' was a common Elizabethan expression for unintelligible speech. In Dekker's Grissil (1600) occurs "It's Greek to him." So in Dickens's Barnaby Rudge: "this is Greek to me." 286. I am promis'd forth: I have promised to go out. 'Forth' is often used in this way in Elizabethan literature without any verb of motion. Cf. The Merchant of Venice, II, v, 11. See Abbott, § 41. 292. blunt: dull, slow. Or there may be a quibble involved in connection with 'mettle' in the next line. Brutus alludes to the 'tardy form' (l. 296) Casca has just 'put on' in winding so long about the matter before coming to the point. 293. quick mettle: lively spirit. Collier conjectured 'quick-mettl'd.' 'Mettlesome' is still used of spirited horses. Cf. I, i, 63. 296. However: notwithstanding. Cf. Troilus and Cressida, I, iii, 322.--tardy form: appearance of tardiness. The construction in this expression is common in Shakespeare, as 'shady stealth' for 'stealing shadow,' in Sonnets, LXXVII, 7; 'negligent danger' for 'danger from negligence,' in Antony and Cleopatra, III, v, 81. 307. that it is dispos'd: that which it is disposed to. For the omission of prepositions in Shakespeare, see Abbott, §§ 198-202. Cassius in this speech is chuckling over the effect his talk has had upon Brutus. 310. bear me hard: has a grudge against me. This remarkable expression occurs three times in this play, but nowhere else in Shakespeare. Professor Hales quotes an example of it from Ben Jonson's Catiline, IV, v. It seems to have been borrowed from horsemanship, and to mean 'carries tight rein,' or 'reins hard,' like one who distrusts his horse. So before, ll. 35, 36:
You bear too stubborn and too strange a hand 312. humour: To 'humor' a man, as the word is here used, is to turn and wind and manage him by watching his moods and crotchets, and to touch him accordingly. It is somewhat in doubt whether the 'he' in the preceding line refers to Brutus or to Cæsar. If to Brutus, the meaning of course is: he should not play upon my humors and fancies as I do upon his. And this sense is fairly required by the context, for the whole speech is occupied with the speaker's success in cajoling Brutus, and with plans for cajoling and shaping him still further. Johnson refers 'he' to Cæsar. 313. hands: handwritings. So the word is used colloquially to-day. 319. We will either shake him, or endure worse days in suffering the consequences of our attempt.--Shakespeare makes Cassius overflow with intense personal spite against Cæsar. This is in accordance with what he read in North's Plutarch.
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