ACT III. SCENE II 92. Honourable. The mistake is frequently made of pronouncing this word as if it were uttered ironically. Not until he feels that the majority of his audience is with him does Antony become ironical. 105. The Lupercal. A cave surrounded by a grove on the north side of the Palatine Hill, between it and the Circus Maximus. The name is also used for the festival celebrated in honor of the god Lupercus. 180. I remember. Antony was not with Cæsar in the campaign against the Nervii, being at the time in Palestine; neither was he present at the assassination of Cæsar, having been drawn "out of the way" by Trebonius. 183. 'Nervii. See Historical Introduction, p. 60. 192. Judge, O you gods. Plutarch claims that because of Cæsar's unlawful passion for Servilia, mother of Brutus, he not only pardoned Brutus after the battle of Pharsalia, "but also kept him always about him, and did as much honour and esteem him as any man he had in his company." 251. Drachmas. Cæsar's will was written in Latin, not in Greek, and the term sestertii, not drachmae, was used. 258. On this side Tiber. Cæsar's gardens were on the Janiculum on the other side of the Tiber from the Forum. Plutarch has here led Shakespeare into error. 263. The holy place. The body was burned in the Forum. 271. Sir, Octavius is already come to Rome. (See note, III. i. 286.) 278. Are rid like madmen. Here Shakespeare differs from Plutarch, who says they left the city "within a few days.' ACT III. SCENE III 1. I dreamt to-night. Shakespeare frequently introduces dreams as prognostics of good or evil. 31. For his bad verses. This humorous touch is Shakespeare's. ACT IV. SCENE I 5. Who is your sister's son. (See footnote, p. 134.) 9. Cut off some charge. Antony's wild and ungovernable life has plunged him into enormous debts, to be relieved of which he stoops to duplicity of the basest nature-the falsification of Cæsar's will. though," says Cicero, "at the time of Cæsar's death he (Antony) owed Al more than one million five hundred thousand dollars, yet within less than a fortnight he had paid it all off.' (Philippic ii. 37.) 37. Objects, arts, and imitations. An "object" is anything that can be recognized by the senses and probably is here used with that meaning. "Arts" is used by Shakespeare in the sense of instruction, learning. "Imitations" has the meaning of fashion. Cf. "Other slow arts entirely keep the brain." (Love's Labour's Lost IV. iii.) "Well fitted in arts.'' (Love's Labour's Lost II. i.) "Those arts they have as I could put into them.'' (Cymbeline V. v.) "Without what imitation you can borrow from youth of such a season. (Cymbeline III. iv.) 16. Familiar instances. ACT IV. SCENE II Signs or proofs of familiarity. 26. Crests. Frequently used by Shakespeare of horses. (The rhetorical figure Synecdoche.) 10. An itching palm. ACT IV. SCENE III Plutarch tells us that Cassius "would often times be carried away from justice for gain." 15. The name of Cassius. A satirical retort to the words "You are Brutus," in l. 13. 47. Spleen. A spongy viscus near the large extremity of the stomach, formerly supposed to be the seat of melancholy, anger, or vexation. 76. To you for gold. According to Plutarch, this request was made after the meeting at Sardis, and was not refused. 98. I could weep. An abrupt change of person, an indication of Cassius' increased excitement. 147. Portia is dead. According to Plutarch, Portia died after the death of Brutus. 175. An hundred senators. In the Life of Brutus, Plutarch says two hundred senators, and in the Life of Antony, three hundred "of the chiefest citizens," were condemned to death by proscription. Shakespeare has reproduced the apparent discrepancy of the two accounts. 194. In art. Cassius means that he had studied to acquire stoicism, but his natural disposition was opposed to it. 197. Of marching to Philippi presently. According to Plutarch, this discussion took place at Philippi. 206. Grudg'd us contribution. Plutarch relates that when Brutus "sent unto the Lycians to require money and men of war," the cities rebelled against him. They did despise his courtesy and good nature.'' 66 253. Book. Books in Cæsar's time were written on rolls of papyrus; hence the "leaf turned down" is an anachronism. Brutus is said to have been employed the night before the battle of Pharsalia in making an abridgment of Pausanias. Roman pockets were bags rather than pockets as we understand the term, not invented till the fourteenth century. Thus, pocket also is an anachronism. 276. Ha! who comes here? According to Plutarch, the ghost appeared at Abydos, not at Sardis. ACT V. SCENE I. Plains of Philippi. For a description of the battle see Historical Introduction, pages 65-67. 20. I do not cross you. I will not argue the point, but I will do as I say. 34. Hybla bees. Hybla was the name of three towns in Sicily. That known as Hybla Minor-later Megara-was probably the one from which came the Hyblaean honey so frequently mentioned by the poets. 41. You show'd. Antony draws upon his imagination. ii. 180.) (See note III. 77. Epicurus. A celebrated Greek, founder of the Epicurean school of philosophy. He was born B. C. 342, and died in 270. He regarded human happiness, resulting from a virtuous life, as the chief end of man. He conceived the gods as exercising no influence upon creation, and hence his followers did not believe in omens or portents. 80. Sardis. The Lydian capital in Asia Minor. Early in 42 B. C., Brutus and Cassius there united their forces against the Cæsareans. It was one of the earliest seats of the Christian religion. 104. I do find. There is a discrepancy between the statements of Brutus in this passage and in the next. In this speech he finds it "cowardly and vile” to anticipate destiny by committing suicide; in the next he implies that he intends to slay himself in the event of defeat. The discrepancy, as the Clarendon Press Editors have pointed out, is due to Shakespeare's being misled by Plutarch. In the line, "I truste a certain rule of philosophy, etc.," the word truste, although evidently a past tense, must have been read by Shakespeare as the present. (See footnote, p. 153.) ACT V. SCENE III 23. This day. Plutach says Cassius died on the anniversary of his birth. 37. Parthia. A country in Asia, southeast of the Caspian sea. In his campaign against the Parthians in 53 B. C., Cassius, who was then Quaestor to Crassus, greatly distinguished himself. After the defeat of Crassus at Carrhae in that year, and his subsequent assassination by a Persian satrap, Cassius assumed command of the Roman legions. 41. Freeman. Romans, when about to die, frequently freed their slaves. 64. Dews. Cf. As stars with trains of fire and dews of blood. Hamlet I. i. 117. 71. Kill'st. It was, and is still, generally believed that snakes swallow their young to protect them from danger. 109. 'Tis three o'clock. Commentators refer to the inconsistency between this statement and "O, setting sun," 1. 60. From this line and the line following, it is not necessary to conclude that the sun was setting at that moment. The present tense often denotes futurity, so that "dost sink" may mean shalt sink. In northern climates (of which Shakespeare was thinking), on March evenings the sun is often red as it descends to the horizon, at or soon after three o'clock. ACT. V. SCENE IV 4. Cato. Marcus, great-grandson of Cato the Censor, born in Utica, 95 B. C. He was of a stern, unyielding character and was devoted to Stoic principles. He vehemently opposed the measures of Cæsar, Pompey, and Crassus. He committed suicide 46 B. C. rather than fall into the hands of Cæsar. (See Historical Introduction, p. 60.) ACT V. SCENE V 13. Vessel. Vessel is often used by Shakespeare of persons, especially in the phrase "the weaker vessel," which occurs four times. 73. His life was gentle. This description of Brutus has been frequently applied to Shakespeare himself. 73. The elements. The first or constituent parts of anything—all existing things having been supposed to consist of fire, air, water, and earth. According to ancient psychological notions, choler was ascribed to fire; blood, to air; phlegm, to water; and melancholy to earth. 66 GRAMMATICAL NOTES On reading the works of Elizabethan authors we wonder at the many points of difference in grammar and meaning between their English and the English of today. Yet, there is really no cause for surprise. The great renascence" had just taken place, and the ancient classics were being studied in England as they never before had been studied. Changes in structure and meaning in the language of Chaucer were demanded and introduced, but as old prejudices die hard the result for a time was chaos. Neither party-the devotees of the old and the advocates of the newwould give way, so both reigned, but neither was supreme. Language is given to interpret thought, and the result of the conflict between the old and the new was a language clear in thought but doubtful in expression. Such must be the conditions in all transitional periods. Hence, though the Elizabethan English differs in many respects from the English of today, it was and is intelligible. The change from the old forms through the Elizabethan English to our present forms was slow indeed, but changes that are to endure are not wrought in a generation. In this may be found the raison d'être of the so-called grammatical difficulties of Shakespeare. Besides, in those days printed books were less common than they are now, and even today spoken language is frequently less grammatical than that which is written. PREPOSITIONS FREQUENTLY INTERCHANGED In respect of (I. i. 10). Compared with. Be not jealous on me (I. ii. 71). Of. Upon the word (I. ii. 104). Immediately after and in consequence of. Cf. our "thereupon.'' O' nights (I. ii. 193). meaning of "sensible." During. Sensible to, though this arises rather from the Upon a heap (I. iii. 23). In. The climate that they point upon (I. iii. 32). Towards. |