ACTIV.

SCENE, a small Island near Mutina. (24)

T

Enter Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus.

ANTONY.

HESE many then fhall die, their names are
prickt.

Oct. Your brother too muft die; confent you,
Lepidus?

Lep. I do confent.

Oa. Prick him down, Antony.

Lep. Upon condition, Publius fhall not live; (25) Who is your fifter's fon, Mark Antony.

Ant. He fhall not live; look, with a fpot, I damn him.

But, Lepidus, go you to Cafar's house;

Fetch the Will hither, and we fhall determine

How to cut off fome charge in legacies.
Lep. What? fhall I find you here?
Oct. Or here, or at the Capitol.
Ant. This is a flight unmeritable man,
Meet to be sent on errands: is it fit,

[Exit Lepidus.

(24) SCENE, a fmall Island.] Mr. Rowe, and Mr. Pope after him, have mark'd the Scene here to be at Rome. The Old Copies fay Nothing of the place. Shakespeare, I dare fay, knew from Plutarch, that thefe Triumvirs met, upon the Profcription, in a little Ifland: which Appian, who is more particular, fays, lay near Mutina upon the River Lavinius.

(25) Upon Condition, Publius fhall not live.] I don't know whom our Author means by this Publius. I know, that one Publius Silicius, as he is call'd by Plutarch, (and Sicilius Coronas, by Dion Caffius ;) fell under this Profcription: but the 3 Perfons, about whom the Triumvirs had fo particular a Squabble, were Cicero, whofe Life Antony infifted on; Paulus, who was condemn'd by his own Brother Lepidus, according to fome Accounts; and Lucius Cæfar, Antony's Uncle by the Mother's fide, whofe Blood Octavius demanded.

The

The three-fold world divided, he should ftand
One of the three to fhare it?

Oct. So you thought him;

And took his voice who fhould be prickt to die,
In our black sentence and profcription.

Ant. Octavius, I have feen more days than you;
And though we lay these honours on this man,
To cafe our felves of divers fland'rous loads;
He shall but bear them, as the afs bears gold,
To groan and fweat under the business,
Or led or driven, as we point the way;
And having brought our treasure where we will,
Then take we down his load, and turn him off,
Like to the empty afs, to fhake his ears,
And graze in commons.

Oft. You may do your will;

But he's a try'd and valiant foldier.

Ant. So is my horse, Octavius; and, for that,
I do appoint him ftore of provender.
It is a creature that I teach to fight,
To wind, to stop, to run directly on;
His corporal motion govern'd by my fpirit.
And, in fome tafte, is Lepidus but fo;

He must be taught, and train'd, and bid go forth,
A barren-spirited fellow, one that feeds (26)

(26) A barven fpirited Fellow, one that feeds

On Objects, Arts, and Imitations, &c.]

On

'Tis hard to conceive, why He fhould be call'd a barren-spirited Fellow, that could feed either on Objects, or Arts: that is, as I prefume, form his Ideas and Judgment upon them: ftale and obfolete Imitation, indeed, fixes fuch a Character. I am perfwaded, to make the Poet confonant to himself, we must read, as I have restored the Text,

On abject Orts,

i. e. on the Scraps and Fragments of Things rejected, and defpifed by others. The Word Orts (which, as Skinner tells us, is of Teutonic Deriyation, and fignifies Fragmenta, Menfe Reliquia) is not fo much antiquated, tho' corrupted in the Pronunciation, but that Children are warn'd to this Day of leaving Qrts on their Plate. Our Author has ufed the Word in feveral other Pailages. As in Timon of Athens, the Thief fays;

It is fome poor Fragment, fome flender Ort of his Remainder

N 3

Ang

On abject Orts, and imitations;
Which, out of use, and stal'd by other
men,
Begin his fashion. Do not talk of him,
But as a property. And now, Octavius,
Liften great things.

Brutus and Caffius

Are levying powers; we must straight make head.
Therefore let our alliance be combin'd;

Our best friends made, and our beft means ftretcht outs
And let us presently go fit in council,

How covert matters may be beft difclos'd,

And open perils fureft anfwered.

Oa. Let us do fo; for we are at the stake, And bay'd about with many enemies;

And fome, that fmile, have in their hearts, I fear,

Millions of mischiefs.

[Exeunt.

SCENE before Brutus's Tent, in the camp near Sardis.

Drum. Enter Brutus, Lucilius, and foldiers: Titinius and Pindarus meeting them.

Bru.

STAND, ho!

Luc. Give the word, ho! and stand! Bru. What now, Lucilius? is Caffius near? Luc. He is at hand, and Pindarus is come To do you falutation from his master.

Bru. He greets me well. Your mafter, Pindarus, In his own change, or by ill officers,

Hath given me fome worthy cause to wish
Things done, undone; but if he be at hand,
I shall be fatisfied.

Pin. I do not doubt,

But that my noble mafter will appear,
Such as he is, full of regard and honour.

And, in Troilus;

The Fractions of her Faith, Orts of her Love,
The Fragments, Scraps, &c.

And likewife in his Poem, call'd Tarquin and Lucrece, Stanz. 141.
Let him have Time a Beggar's Orts to crave.

Bru.

Bru. He is not doubted. A word, Lucilius How he receiv'd you, let me be refolv'd.

Luc. With courtefie, and with refpect enough;
But not with fuch familiar inftances,

Nor with fuch free and friendly conference,
As he hath us'd of old.

Bru. Thou haft describ'd

A hot friend, cooling; ever note, Lucilius,
When love begins to ficken and decay,
It useth an enforced ceremony.

There are no tricks in plain and fimple faith:
But hollow men, like horfes hot at hand,
Make gallant fhew and promife of their mettle;
But when they fhould endure the bloody fpur,
They fall their creft, and, like deceitful jades,
Sink in the trial. Comes his army on?

Luc. They mean this night in Sardis to be quarter'd; The greater part, the horfe in general,

Are come with Caffius.

[Low march within,

Enter Caffius and foldiers.

Bru. Hark, he is arriv'd;

March gently on to meet him.

Caf. Stand, ho!

Bru. Stand, ho! fpeak the word along.

Within. Stand!

Within. Stand!

Within. Stand!

Caf. Moft noble brother, you have done me wrong. Bru. Judge me, you Gods! wrong I mine enemies? And if not fo, how fhould I wrong a brother? Caf. Brutus, this fober form of yours hides wrongs, And when you do them

Bru. Caffius, be content,

Speak your griefs foftly, I do know you

Before the eyes of both our armies here,

well.

(Which should perceive nothing, but love, from us) Let us not wrangle. Bid them move away; Then in my Tent Caffius enlarge your griefs,

And I will give you audience.

N 4

Caf.

Caf. Pindarus,

Bid our commanders lead their charges off
A little from this ground.

Bru. Lucilius, do the like; and let no man
Come to our tent, 'till we have done our conference.
Let Lucius and Titinius guard the door.

[Exeunt.

SCENE changes to the Infide of Brutus's Tent.

Caf. TH

Re-enter Brutus and Caffius.

HAT you have wrong'd me, doth appear
in this, (27)

You have condemn'd and noted Lucius Pella,
For taking bribes here of the Sardians;
Wherein, my letter (praying on his fide,
Because I knew the man,) was flighted off,

Bru. You wrong'd your felf to write in fuch a cafe,
Caf. In fuch a time as this, it is not meet
That ev'ry nice offence should bear its comment.
Bru. Yet let me tell you, Caffius, you your felf
Are much condemn'd to have an itching palm;

(27) Caf. That you have wrong'd me, &c.] This famous QuarrellingScene, which has given Rife to fo many Imitations, (particularly, in the Maid's Tragedy; Mr. Dryden's Alteration of Troilus and Creffida; and in his Don Sebaftian ;) and which was receiv'd with fo much Applaufe, that it is fpoken of in one of the Preliminary Copies of Verfes to the firft Folio Impreffion of Shakespeare's Works,

Or till I hear a Scene more nobly take,

Than what thy half-fward parling Romans pake.

Yet this Scene feems to me to have been fneer'd at by the Swordsmen in Beaumont and Fletcher's King and no King: As of late Years it has met with a glancing Attack, by way of Banter, in a Scene betwixt Peachum and Lockit in the Beggar's Opera. On the other hand, our Dryden had fo just an Opinion of this fine Scene, that he has made no Scruple to prefer it to the Quarrel of Agamemnon and Menelaus, in the Iphigenia in Aulis of Euripides. "The particular Ground-work, "Says He, which Shakespeare has taken, is incomparably the beft: "because he has not only chofen two of the greateft Heroes of the Age, but has likewife interested the Liberty of Rome and their own "Honours, who were the Redeemers of it, in the Debate". Preface to Troilus and Creffida.

To