Bru. Remember March, the ides of March remember!

Did not great Julius bleed for justice sake?
What villain touch'd his body, that did stab,
And not for justice? What, shall one of us,
That struck the foremost man of all this world,
But for supporting robbers; shall we now
Contaminate our fingers with base bribes?
And sell the mighty meed of our large honours
For so much trash, as may be grasped thus?
I had rather be a dog, and bay the moon,
Than such a Roman.

Cas. Brutus, bay not me

I'll not endure it; you forget yourself,
To hedge me in; I am a soldier, I,
Older in practice, abler than yourself
To make conditions.

Bru. Go to; you are not, Cassius.
Cas. I am.

Bru. I say, you are not.

Cas. Urge me no more, I shall forget myself Have mind upon your health-tempt me no farther. Bru. Away, slight man!

Cas. Is't possible?

Bru. Hear me, for I will speak.

Must give way and room to your rash choler? Shall I be frighted when a madman stares?

Cas. O gods! ye gods! must I endure all this? Bra. All this? ay more. Fret till your proud heart break;

Go tell your slaves how choleric:

you are,

And make your bondmen tremble. Must I budge?
Must I observe you? must I stand and crouch
Under your testy humour? By the gods,
You shall digest the venom of your spleen,
Tho' it do split you: for from this day forth,
I'll use you for my mirth, yea, for my laughter,
When you are waspish.

Cas. Is it come to this?

Bru. You say, you are a better soldier; Let it appear so make your vaunting true,

And it shall please me well. For mine own part, I shall be glad to learn of noble men.

Cas. You wrong me every way-you wrong me Brutus ;

I said an elder soldier, not a better :
Did I say a better?

Bru. If you did, I care not.

Cas. When Cæsar liv'd, he durst not thus have mov'd me.

Bru. Peace, peace; you durst not so have tempted him.

Cas. I durst not?

Bru. No.

Cas. What? durst not tempt him?

Bru. For your life durst not.
you

Cas. Do not presume too much upon my love; I may do what I shall be sorry for.

Bru. You have done that you should be sorry for. There is no terror, Cassius, in your threats; For I am arm'd so strong in honesty, That they pass by me as the idle wind, Which I respect not. I did send to you For certain sums of gold, which you deny'd me ; For I can raise no money by vile means. By heav'n, I had rather coin my heart,

And drop my blood for drachmas, than to wring) From the hard hand of peasants their vile trash By any indirection. I did send

To you for gold to pay my legions,

Which you denied me: was that done like Cassius?
Should I have answered Caius Cassius so?
When Marcus Brutus grows so covetous,
To lock such rascal counters from his friends
Be ready, gods, with all your thunderbolts;
Dash him to pieces.

Cas. I deny'd you not.

Bru. You did.

Cas. I did not he was but a fool

That brought my answer back.-Brutus hath riv'd my heart.

A friend should bear a friend's infirmities,

Book viij. But Brutus makes mine greater than they are. Bru. I do not. Still you practise them on me. Cas. You love me not.

Bru. I do not like

your

faults.

Cas. A friendly eye could never see such faults. Bru. A flatt'rer's would not, though they do appear

As huge as high Olympus.

Cas. Come, Antony, and young Octavius, come! Revenge yourselves alone on Cassius

For Cassius is a-weary of the world;

Hated by one he loves; brav'd by his brother;
Check'd by a bondman; all his faults observ'd,
Set in a note-book, learn'd and conn'd by rote,
To cast into my teeth. O, I could weep
My spirit from mine eyes!-There is my dagger,
And here my naked breast-within, a heart
Dearer than Plutus' mine, richer than gold!
If that thou need'st a Roman's, take it forth.
I, that deny'd thee gold, will give my heart:
Strike as thou didst at Cæsar; for I know,

When thou didst hate him worst, thou lov'dst him better

Than ever thou lov'd'st Cassius.

Bru. Sheathe your dagger;

Be angry when you will, it shall have scope;
Do what you will, dishonour shall be humour.
O Cassius; you are yoked with a lamb,
That carries anger as the flint bears fire,
Which, much enforced, shows a hasty spark,
And straight is cold again.

Cas. Hath Cassius liv'd

To be but mirth and laughter to his Brutus
When grief, and blood ill-temper'd, vexeth him?
Bru. When I spoke that, I was ill-temper'd too.
Cas. Do you confess so much? Give me your
hand.

Bru. And

my heart too.

Cas. O Brutus?

Bru. What's the matter?

Cas. Have you not love enough to bear with me,

When that rash humour which my mother gave me, Makes me forgetful?

Bru. Yes, Cassius, and from henceforth,

When you are over-earnest with your Brutus, He'll think your mother chides, and leave you so. SHAKESPEARE.

CHA P. X X V I I.

Othello and Iago.

Iago. My noble lord,

Y

Oth. What dost thou say Iago?

Iago. Did Michael Cassio, when you woo'd my lady, Know of your love?

Oth. He did, from first to last: why dost thou ask?

Iago. But for a satisfaction of my thought, No farther harm.

Oth. Why of thy thought, Iago?

Iago. I did not think he'd been acquainted with

it.

Oth. Oh, yes,

lago. Indeed!

and went between us very oft.

Oth. Indeed! ay, indeed. Discern'st thou aught in that?

Is he not honest.

Iago. Honest, my lord?

Oth. Honest? aye, honest.

lago. My lord, for aught I know.

Oth. What dost thou think!

Iago. Think, my lord!

Oth. Think, my Lord! Why, by Heav'n, thou echo'st me,

As if there were some monster in thy thought, Too hideous to be shewn. Thou dost mean some

thing:

I heard thee say but now, « thou lik'st not that, >>

When Cassio left my wife. What didst not like?

Book viij. And when I told thee, he was of my counsel, In my whole course of wooing thou cry'dst,

cc
<<< Indeed! »

And didst contract and purse thy brow together,
As if thou then hadst shut up in thy brain
Some horrible conceit. If thou dost love me,
Shew me thy thought.

Iago. My lord, you know I love you.

Oth. I think thou dost :

And for I know, thou art full of love and honesty, And weigh'st thy words before thou giv'st them breath,

Therefore these stops of thine fright me the more;
For such things, in a false disloyal knave,
Are tricks of custom; but in a man that's just,
They're cold dilations working from the heart,
That passion cannot rule.

Iago. For Michael Cassio,

I dare be sworn, I think, that he is honest.
Oth. I think so too.

Iago. Men, should be what they seem:

Or those that be not, would they might seem

knaves.

Oth. Certain ! men should be what they seem. Iago. Why, then I think Cassio's an honest man. Oth. Nay, yet there's more in this

I pray thee speak to me as to thy thinkings, As thou dost ruminate and give thy worst of thoughts

The worst of words.

Iago. Good my lord, pardon me, Though I am bound to every act of duty 9 I am not bound to that all slaves are free to; Utter my thoughts!-Why, say, they're vile and false;

As where's that palace, whereinto foul things
Sometimes intrude not: Who has a breast so pure,
But some uncleanly apprehensions

Keps leets and law-days, and in sessions sit
With meditations lawful?

Oth. Thou dost conspire against thy friend, lago.