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CASSIUS And leave us, Publius, lest that the people,
Rushing on us, should do your age some mischief.
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CASSIUS And leave us, Publius, in case the people storming us should harm
you.
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BRUTUS Do so. And let no man abide this deed
But we the doers.
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BRUTUS Do so. And let no one suffer for this deed except us, the
perpetrators.
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Exit PUBLIUS
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PUBLIUS exits.
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Enter TREBONIUS
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TREBONIUS
enters.
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CASSIUS
105Where is Antony?
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CASSIUS Where’s Antony?
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TREBONIUS Fled to his house amazed.
Men, wives, and children stare, cry out, and run
As it were doomsday.
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TREBONIUS He ran to his house, stunned. Men, wives, and children stare, cry
out, and run in the streets as though it were doomsday.
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BRUTUS Fates, we will
know your pleasures.
That we shall die, we know. 'Tis but the time,
110And drawing days out, that men stand upon.
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BRUTUS We’ll soon find out what fate has in store for us. All we
know is that we’ll die sometime, which is all anyone ever
knows, though we try to draw out our days for as long as
possible.
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CASSIUS Why, he that cuts off twenty years of life
Cuts off so many years of fearing death.
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CASSIUS Why, the man who shortens his life by twenty years cuts off twenty
years of worrying about death.
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BRUTUS Grant that, and then is death a benefit.
So are we Caesar’s friends, that have abridged
115His time of fearing death. Stoop, Romans, stoop,
And let us bathe our hands in Caesar’s blood
Up to the elbows, and besmear our swords.
Then walk we forth, even to the marketplace,
And waving our red weapons o'er our heads
120Let’s all cry, “Peace, freedom, and
liberty!”
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BRUTUS So, then, death is a gift, and we are Caesar’s friends,
for we’ve done him a service by shortening his time spent
fearing death. Kneel, Romans, kneel, and let’s wash our
hands, up to the elbows, in Caesar’s blood and smear it on
our swords. Then we’ll go out, even to the marketplace,
and, waving our bloody swords over our heads, let’s cry,
“Peace, freedom, and liberty!”
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CASSIUS Stoop, then, and wash.
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CASSIUS Kneel then, and wash.
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