Reading Caesar III (Redux)
Warning, swooning ahead
Read Act 1 scene 2 lines 1-30.
A public place. [Flourish. Enter CAESAR; ANTONY, for the course; CALPURNIA, PORTIA, DECIUS BRUTUS, CICERO, BRUTUS, CASSIUS, and CASCA; a great crowd following, among them a Soothsayer]
CAESAR
Calpurnia!
CASCA
Peace, ho! Caesar speaks.
CAESAR
Calpurnia!
CALPURNIA
Here, my lord.
CAESAR
Stand you directly in Antonius' way, When he doth run his course. Antonius!
ANTONY
Caesar, my lord?
CAESAR
Forget not, in your speed, Antonius, To touch Calpurnia; for our elders say, The barren, touched in this holy chase, Shake off their sterile curse.
ANTONY
I shall remember: When Caesar says 'do this,' it is perform'd.
CAESAR
Set on; and leave no ceremony out.
SOOTHSAYER
Caesar!
CAESAR
Ha! who calls?
CASCA
Bid every noise be still: peace yet again!
CAESAR
Who is it in the press that calls on me? I hear a tongue, shriller than all the music, Cry 'Caesar!' Speak; Caesar is turn'd to hear.
SOOTHSAYER
Beware the ides of March.
CAESAR
What man is that?
BRUTUS
A soothsayer bids you beware the ides of March.
CAESAR
Set him before me; let me see his face.
CASSIUS
Fellow, come from the throng; look upon Caesar.
CAESAR
What say'st thou to me now? speak once again.
SOOTHSAYER
Beware the ides of March.
CAESAR
He is a dreamer; let us leave him: pass. [Sennet. Exeunt all except BRUTUS and CASSIUS]
This scene shows Caesar’s authority and his control – the first thing we see him do is give an order (to his wife). Now typically conversations between husband and wife are private affairs – but this one is not. Casca wants this to be public, he hushes the crowd. Caesar tells his wife where to stand, then turns to Antonius. His interactions here make him appear very pious and bound by tradition.
Recall, many would quite rightly be very skeptical of his stand toward the traditions as he broke the greatest one in crossing the Rubicon with his army. And we should be skeptical given his revealing dismissal of the soothsayer as a mere “dreamer” at line 24, a dismissal (you should note) that is public. Caesar is aware of the fact that dreams were thought to have prophetic significance, a fact he will later exploit by lying about a dream.
So right here, in very few lines, we see Caesar’s stand toward religion, piety, and tradition, and it is very Machiavellian – it is the appearance of reverence.
Read Act 1 scene 2 lines 30-85.
CASSIUS
Will you go see the order of the course?
BRUTUS
Not I.
CASSIUS
I pray you, do.
BRUTUS
I am not gamesome: I do lack some part Of that quick spirit that is in Antony. Let me not hinder, Cassius, your desires; I'll leave you.
CASSIUS
Brutus, I do observe you now of late: I have not from your eyes that gentleness And show of love as I was wont to have: You bear too stubborn and too strange a hand Over your friend that loves you.
BRUTUS
Cassius, Be not deceived: if I have veil'd my look, I turn the trouble of my countenance Merely upon myself. Vexed I am Of late with passions of some difference, Conceptions only proper to myself, Which give some soil perhaps to my behaviors; But let not therefore my good friends be grieved— Among which number, Cassius, be you one— Nor construe any further my neglect, Than that poor Brutus, with himself at war, Forgets the shows of love to other men.
CASSIUS
Then, Brutus, I have much mistook your passion; By means whereof this breast of mine hath buried Thoughts of great value, worthy cogitations. Tell me, good Brutus, can you see your face?
Brutus. No, Cassius; for the eye sees not itself, But by reflection, by some other things.
CASSIUS
'Tis just: And it is very much lamented, Brutus, That you have no such mirrors as will turn Your hidden worthiness into your eye, That you might see your shadow. I have heard, Where many of the best respect in Rome, Except immortal Caesar, speaking of Brutus And groaning underneath this age's yoke, Have wish'd that noble Brutus had his eyes.
BRUTUS
Into what dangers would you lead me, Cassius, That you would have me seek into myself For that which is not in me?
CASSIUS
Therefore, good Brutus, be prepared to hear: And since you know you cannot see yourself So well as by reflection, I, your glass, Will modestly discover to yourself That of yourself which you yet know not of. And be not jealous on me, gentle Brutus: Were I a common laugher, or did use To stale with ordinary oaths my love To every new protester; if you know That I do fawn on men and hug them hard And after scandal them, or if you know That I profess myself in banqueting To all the rout, then hold me dangerous. [Flourish, and shout]
Caesar exits the stage. Cassius and Brutus remain. Cassius asks Brutus if he is going to go to the races. Brutus says no. Cassius observes that something is not quite right with Brutus, he seems troubled by something. Brutus admits he is conflicted about something, but he doesn’t say what – this leads Cassius to inquire further; he offers to be a mirror for Brutus so that Brutus may discover something about himself he does not know.
All of a sudden there is a flourish and a shout from off-stage, which prompts Brutus to say: “What means this shouting? I do fear the people choose Caesar for their king.” This causes Cassius to feel him out a little more directly: “Ay, do you fear it? Then I must think you would not have it so.”
Brutus responds thusly:
I would not, Cassius, yet I love him well. But wherefore do you hold me here so long? What is it that you would impart to me? If it be aught toward the general good, Set honor in one eye and death i’ th’ other And I will look on both indifferently; For let the gods so speed me as I love The name of honor more than I fear death.
Notice, Brutus’s response combines the two things that drive him: the common good and the love of honor.
So to which virtue does Cassius go on to speak of? Honor. He clearly thinks Brutus is driven by honor above all things:
I know that virtue to be in you, Brutus, As well as I do know your outward favor. Well, honor is the subject of my story. I cannot tell what you and other men Think of this life; but, for my single self, I had as lief not be as live to be in awe of such a thing as I myself. I was born free as Caesar; so were you; We both have fed as well, and we can both Endure the winter’s cold as well as he. For once, upon a raw and gusty day, the troubled Tiber chafing with her shores, Caesar said to me “Dar’st thou, Cassius, now Leap in with me into this angry flood and swim to yonder point?” Upon the word, Accoutered as I was, I plunged in and bade him follow; so indeed he did. The torrent roared, and we did buffet it with lusty sinews, throwing it aside and stemming it with hearts of controversy. But ere we could arrive the point proposed, Caesar cried “Help me, Cassius, or I sink!” I, as Aeneas, our great ancestor, did from the flames of Troy upon his shoulder The old Anchises bear, so from the waves of Tiber Did I the tired Caesar. And this man Is now become a god, and Cassius is A wretched creature and must bend his body If Caesar carelessly but nod on him. He had a fever when he was in Spain, and when the fit was on him, I did mark How he did shake. ’Tis true, this god did shake. His coward lips did from their color fly, and that same eye whose bend doth awe the world Did lose his luster. I did hear him groan. Ay, and that tongue of his that bade the Romans Mark him and write his speeches in their books, “Alas,” it cried “Give me some drink, Titinius” As a sick girl. You gods, it doth amaze me A man of such a feeble temper should So get the start of the majestic world and bear the palm alone.
Notice, Cassius refers to all these physical strengths as ways in which he is better than Caesar – ‘I’m a better swimmer than Caesar; I’m healthier than Caesar’ – which is revealing of his perspective and character: it is that of the footman of the valet to the hero.
Consider Hegel in Reason in History:
It is in the light of those common elements which constitute the interest and therefore the passions of individuals, that these historical men are to be regarded. They are great men, because they willed and accomplished something great; not a mere fancy, a mere intention, but that which met the case and fell in with the needs of the age. This mode of considering them also excludes the so-called “psychological” view, which—serving the purpose of envy most effectually—contrives so to refer all actions to the heart,—to bring them under such a subjective aspect—as that their authors appear to have done everything under the impulse of some passion, mean or grand,—some morbid craving,—and on account of these passions and cravings to have been not moral men. Alexander of Macedon partly subdued Greece, and then Asia; therefore he was possessed by a morbid craving for conquest. He is alleged to have acted from a craving for fame, for conquest; and the proof that these were the impelling motives is that he did that which resulted in fame. What pedagogue has not demonstrated of Alexander the Great—of Julius Caesar—that they were instigated by such passions, and were consequently immoral men,—whence the conclusion immediately follows that he, the pedagogue, is a better man than they, because he has not such passions; a proof of which lies in the fact that he does not conquer Asia,—vanquish Darius and Porus,—but while he enjoys life himself lets others enjoy it too. These psychologists are particularly fond of contemplating those peculiarities of great historical figures which appertain to them as private persons. Man must eat and drink; he sustains relations to friends and acquaintances; he has passing impulses and ebullitions of temper. “No man is a hero to his valet-de-chambre,” is a well-known proverb; I have added— and Goethe repeated it ten years later—“but not because the former is no hero, but because the latter is a valet.” He takes off the hero’s boots, assists him to bed, knows that he preferschampagne, &c. Historical personages waited upon in historical literature by such psychological valets, come poorly off; they are brought down by these their attendants to a level with—or rather a few degrees below the level of—the morality of such exquisite discerners of spirits.
To return to Cassius: if the question is whether or not Caesar deserves to rule, then are the facts of swimming or general health really relevant to the discussion? Does the fact that President Obama has a mean jump shot make him better suited to the office of the presidency? No.
We get a second flourish and shout from off-stage, to which Brutus again reacts: “I do believe that these applause are for some new honors that are heaped on Caesar.”
Cassius then prods even further:
Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world Like a Colossus, and we petty men Walk under his huge legs and peep about to find ourselves dishonorable graves. Men at some time are masters of their fates. The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings. “Brutus” and “Caesar”—what should be in that “Caesar”? Why should that name be sounded more than yours? Write them together, yours is as fair a name; Sound them, it doth become the mouth as well; Weigh them, it is as heavy; conjure with ’em, “Brutus” will start a spirit as soon as “Caesar.” Now, in the names of all the gods at once, upon what meat doth this our Caesar feed That he is grown so great? Age, thou art shamed! Rome, thou hast lost the breed of noble bloods! When went there by an age, since the great flood, but it was famed with more than with one man? When could they say, till now, that talked of Rome, that her wide walks encompassed but one man? Now is it Rome indeed, and room enough When there is in it but one only man. O, you and I have heard our fathers say There was a Brutus once that would have brooked Th’ eternal devil to keep his state in Rome as easily as a king.
It is important to note that Cassius here introduces one of the themes of the play (and of modernity); the following should remind you of Machiavelli (if you have not read The Prince, you should): “Men at some time are masters of their fates; The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings.”
Much of this play has to do with how we view the world, the cosmos, and the place of humanity within it. Cassius continues to compare Caesar and Brutus suggesting the latter is just as good as the former, and at the end Brutus gives what Cassius says is a firery response: “Brutus had rather be a villager than repute himself a son of Rome under these hard conditions as this time is like to lay upon us.”
Brutus and Cassius will speak more later; at this point, however, the games are done and Caesar and his train return. We get a chance to see Brutus’s judgment or understanding of others first-hand:
BRUTUS
The games are done, and Caesar is returning.CASSIUS
As they pass by, pluck Casca by the sleeve, and he will, after his sour fashion, tell you what hath proceeded worthy note today.BRUTUS
I will do so. But look you, Cassius, the angry spot doth glow on Caesar’s brow, and all the rest look like a chidden train. Calphurnia’s cheek is pale, and Cicero looks with such ferret and such fiery eyes as we have seen him in the Capitol, being crossed in conference by some senators.CASSIUS
Casca will tell us what the matter is.
He indicates that there was an angry spot that doth glow on Caesar’s brow that has infected the entire train, but before Casca comes over the scene is interrupted:
CAESAR
Antonius.
ANTONY
Caesar.
CAESAR
Let me have men about me that are fat, sleek-headed men, and such as sleep a-nights. Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look. He thinks too much. Such men are dangerous.
ANTONY
Fear him not, Caesar; he’s not dangerous. He is a noble Roman, and well given.CAESAR
Would he were fatter! But I fear him not. Yet if my name were liable to fear, I do not know the man I should avoid so soon as that spare Cassius. He reads much, he is a great observer, and he looks quite through the deeds of men. He loves no plays, as thou dost, Antony; he hears no music; seldom he smiles, and smiles in such a sort as if he mocked himself and scorned his spirit that could be moved to smile at anything. Such men as he be never at heart’s ease whiles they behold a greater than themselves, and therefore are they very dangerous. I rather tell thee what is to be feared than what I fear; for always I am Caesar. Come on my right hand, for this ear is deaf, and tell me truly what thou think’st of him.
We see Caesar speaking to Antonius and see that Caesar is not angry, that is, we see for ourselves that Brutus’s interpretation is incorrect. This exchange between Caesar and Antonius is the first thing we hear Caesar speak after he was offered the crown: he provides a perfect character sketch of Cassius: Cassius reads too much and is a great observer (just like Machiavelli), he is no playboy and he thinks too much. Notice also that Antonius gets Cassius wrong – there is a similarity between Brutus and Antonius. Finally, right at the end of the exchange we find out that Caesar is deaf in his left ear.
We then return to Cassius, Brutus, and Casca:
CASCA
You pulled me by the cloak. Would you speak with me?
BRUTUS
Ay, Casca. Tell us what hath chanced today that Caesar looks so sad.CASCA
Why, you were with him, were you not?
BRUTUS
I should not then ask Casca what had chanced.
CASCA
Why, there was a crown offered him; and, being offered him, he put it by with the back of his hand, thus, and then the people fell a-shouting.
BRUTUSWhat was the second noise for?
CASCAWhy, for that too.
CASSIUS
They shouted thrice. What was the last cry for?
CASCA
Why, for that too.
BRUTUSWas the crown offered him thrice?
CASCA
Ay, marry, was ’t, and he put it by thrice, every time gentler than other; and at every putting-by, mine honest neighbors shouted.
CASSIUS
Who offered him the crown?
CASCA
Why, Antony.
BRUTUS
Tell us the manner of it, gentle Casca.
CASCAI can as well be hanged as tell the manner of it. It was mere foolery; I did not mark it. I saw Mark Antony offer him a crown (yet ’twas not a crown neither; ’twas one of these coronets), and, as I told you, he put it by once; but for all that, to my thinking, he would fain have had it. Then he offered it to him again; then he put it by again; but to my thinking, he was very loath to lay his fingers off it. And then he offered it the third time. He put it the third time by, and still as he refused it the rabblement hooted and clapped their chopped hands and threw up their sweaty nightcaps and uttered such a deal of stinking breath because Caesar refused the crown that it had almost choked Caesar, for he swooned and fell down at it. And for mine own part, I durst not laugh for fear of opening my lips and receiving the bad air.
CASSIUS
But soft, I pray you. What, did Caesar swoon?CASCA
He fell down in the marketplace and foamed at mouth and was speechless.
BRUTUS
’Tis very like; he hath the falling sickness.CASSIUS
No, Caesar hath it not; but you and I and honest Casca, we have the falling sickness.CASCA
I know not what you mean by that, but I am sure Caesar fell down. If the tag-rag people did not clap him and hiss him, according as he pleased and displeased them, as they use to do the players in the theater, I am no true man.
We come to see that Caesar was offered the crown three times and turned it down three times. Moreover, we come to see that Cassius has very good ears, having heard all three shouts, whereas Brutus (and the audience) only heard the two. So Antonius offered Caesar the crown three times, Caesar says ‘no’ all three times and then swoons – we have to decide for ourselves whether Antonius would offer the crown to Caesar on his own, or whether this is merely an elaborate play.
BRUTUS
What said he when he came unto himself?CASCA
Marry, before he fell down, when he perceived the common herd was glad he refused the crown, he plucked me ope his doublet and offered them his throat to cut. An I had been a man of any occupation, if I would not have taken him at a word, I would I might go to hell among the rogues. And so he fell. When he came to himself again, he said if he had done or said anything amiss, he desired their worships to think it was his infirmity. Three or four wenches where I stood cried “Alas, good soul!” and forgave him with all their hearts. But there’s no heed to be taken of them; if Caesar had stabbed their mothers, they would have done no less.
BRUTUS
And, after that, he came thus sad away?CASCA
Ay.
CASSIUS
Did Cicero say anything?CASCA
Ay, he spoke Greek.
CASSIUS
To what effect?
CASCA
Nay, an I tell you that, I’ll ne’er look you i’ th’ face again. But those that understood him smiled at one another and shook their heads. But for mine own part, it was Greek to me. I could tell you more news too: Marullus and Flavius, for pulling scarves off Caesar’s images, are put to silence. Fare you well. There was more foolery yet, if I could remember it.
CASSIUS
Will you sup with me tonight, Casca?
CASCA
No, I am promised forth.
Will you dine with me tomorrow? Ay, if I be alive, and your mind hold, and your dinner worth the eating.
CASSIUS
Good. I will expect you.
CASCA
Do so. Farewell both.
As Casca continues we hear how Caesar masterfully played the crowd: ‘Cut my throat before you give me a crown!’ says Caesar, and he seems to have meant it. Caesar draws on their pity; he pretends to be their servant; he plays on the pity of women. Caesar does this because it is very difficult to hate someone once you pity them.
BRUTUS
What a blunt fellow is this grown to be! He was quick mettle when he went to school.CASSIUS
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.BRUTUS
And so it is. For this time I will leave you. 315 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.CASSIUS
I will do so. Till then, think of the world.
Up to this point Casca has been with Caesar, so we need to find out whether he really is in line with Caesar or not. While Brutus thinks Casca is slow, Cassius says it is an act, he acts slower than he is – if Cassius is correct, is he careful enough later when he again runs into Casca? When he lets slip about the conspiracy is he doing it on the assumption that Casca is dumb or that he pretends to it?
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 glanced at and after this, let Caesar seat him sure, for we will shake him, or worse days endure.
Finally, here in Cassius’s soliloquy at the end of the scene we see that he is certain he can gain Brutus (one of Caesar’s closest friends!) to the conspiracy by writing some letters in various hand anonymously along the lines of ‘Brutus is great; we don’t like what Caesar is doing.’ What does this tells us about Brutus’s character? What kind of friend is he? Think again about what motivates him, and how Cassius seeks to bring him into the conspiracy.