ENGLISH CLASSICS FOR SCHOOLS THE TRAGEDY OF JULIUS CAESAR BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE NEW YORK ·:· CINCINNATI :· CHICAGO 1892 INTRODUCTION. HAKESPEARE'S "Tragedie of Julius Cæsar was probably written about In Weever's" Mirror of Martyrs," published in 1601, are "The many-headed multitude were drawn By Brutus' speech, that Cæsar was ambitious; When eloquent Mark Antony had shown His virtues, who but Brutus then was vicious?" know of nothing which could have suggested these lines to Weever, ex- s it seems that the play must have been produced upon the stage as early 66 at, make his translation from the original Greek, or even from a Latin ion, but from a French version by Jaques Amyot, Bishop of Auxerre, is said to have followed the Latin text. As a strict and accurate version, ay, accordingly, have been surpassed in some points by others extant in lish; yet it has merits of its own which must not be hastily overlooked. particular, it must be observed that the translation by Amyot was very ful, spirited, and well executed; and, though North fell into some mises which Amyot had avoided, his English is especially good, racy, and I expressed. He had the advantage of writing at a period when nervous idiomatic English was well understood and commonly written; so that constantly uses expressions which illustrate, in a very interesting manner, language of our Authorized Version of the Bible. But whatever may be occasional drawbacks of North's version on the score of inaccuracy, we -w that it was his version, and no other, which Shakespeare used; it was m North, and no one else, that he imitated certain phrases, expressions, 3 1 and characteristics so familiar to all readers, though very few know which those phrases are. 99.66 [From Trench's "Lectures on Plutarch."] Whatever Latin Shakespeare may have had, he certainly knew no Greek, and thus it was only through Sir Thomas North's translation that the rich treasure-house of Plutarch's "Lives " was accessible to him. Nor do I think it too much to affirm that his three great Roman plays, reproducing the ancient Roman world as no other modern poetry has ever done, — I refer to Coriolanus,' 'Julius Cæsar," and "Antony and Cleopatra," - would never have existed, or, had Shakespeare lighted by chance on these arguments, would have existed in forms altogether different from those in which they now appear, if Plutarch had not written, and Sir Thomas North, or some other in his place, had not translated. We have in Plutarch not the framework or skeleton only of the story, no, nor yet merely the ligaments and sinews, but very much also of the flesh and blood wherewith these are covered and clothed. It is scarcely an exaggeration to say that the whole play of "Julius Cæsar" is to be found in Plutarch. Shakespeare, indeed, has thrown a rich mantle of poetry over all, which is often wholly his own; but of the incident there is almost nothing which he does not owe to Plutarch, even as continually he owes the very wording to Sir Thomas North. Yet Shakespeare never abdicates his royal preeminence. Thus Plutarch tells us of that funeral oration by Mark Antony, how "to conclude his oration he unfolded before the whole assembly the bloody garments of the dead, thrust through in many places with their swords, and called the malefactors cruel and cursed murtherers." It is well said. —a graphic touch; but mark how Shakespeare has taken possession of it: — "You all do know this mantle: I remember The first time ever Cæsar put it on; 'Twas on a summer's evening, in his tent, That day he overcame the Nervii. Look! in this place ran Cassius' dagger through: See what a rent the envious Casca made: Through this the well-beloved Brutus stabb'd; And as he pluck'd his cursed steel away, Mark how the blood of Cæsar follow'd it, As rushing out of doors, to be resolv'd If Brutus so unkindly knock'd, or no; For Brutus, as you know, was Cæsar's angel." Nowhere does Shakespeare make any pretense of concealing his obligations to Plutarch; and we can only admire that grand confidence in his own Cæsar ces which left him free without scruple to adopt and turn by assimilao his own uses whatever he anywhere found which was likely to prove eable to the needs of his art. ose. [From Plutarch's "Julius Cæsar," North's edition of 1612.] that time the feast Lupercalia was celebrated, the which in old time ay was the feast of shepherds or herdmen, and is much like unto the of the Lycæans in Arcadia. But howsoever it is, that day there are noblemen's sons, young men, (and some of them magistrates themselves govern then), which run through the city, striking in sport them they in their way with leather thongs, hair and all on, to make them give And many noblewomen and gentlewomen also go of purpose to stand eir way, and do put forth their hands to be stricken, as scholars hold out to their schoolmaster to be stricken with the ferula: persuading themthat [in this manner they will avoid sterility]. Cæsar sat to behold that upon the pulpit for orations, in a chain of gold, apparelled in triumI manner. Antonius, who was Consul at that time, was one of them an this holy course. So when he came into the market-place, the peohade a lane for him to run at liberty, and he came to Cæsar, and pred him a diadem wreathed about with laurel. Whereupon there rose a n cry of rejoicing, not very great, done only by a few appointed for the But when Cæsar refused the diadem, then all the people together an outcry of joy. Then Antonius offering it him again, there was a d shout of joy, but yet of a few. But when Cæsar refused it again the ad time, then all the whole people shouted. Cæsar having made this , found that the people did not like of it, and thereupon rose out of his , and commanded the crown to be carried unto Jupiter in the Capitol. that, there were set up images of Cæsar in the city, with diadems upon heads like kings. Those the two tribunes, Flavius and Marullus, went pulled down, and furthermore, meeting with them that first saluted r as king, they committed them to prison. . . . Cæsar was so offended al, that he deprived Marullus and Flavius of their tribuneships. . . . ow they that desired change, and wished Brutus only their prince and rnor above all other, they durst not come to him themselves to tell him they would have him to do, but in the night did cast sundry papers into Prætor's seat, where he gave audience, and the most of them to this t: "Thou sleepest, Brutus, and art not Brutus indeed." Cassius, findBrutus' ambition stirred up the more by these seditious bills, did prick forward and egg him on the more, for a private quarrel he had conceived nst Cæsar. ... æsar also had Cassius in great jealousy, and suspected him much: reupon he said on a time to his friends, "what will Cassius do, think ye? |