The New Hudson Shakespeare · William Shakespeare
SCENE V. _Another part of the field_
_Enter_ BRUTUS, DARDANIUS, CLITUS, STRATO, _and_ VOLUMNIUS BRUTUS. Come, poor remains of friends, rest on this rock. CLITUS. Statilius show'd the torch-light, but, my lord; He came not back. He is or ta'en or slain. [Note: SCENE V Capell | Scene VIII Pope.--_Another_ ... Ff omit.] [Note 3: "Brutus thought that there was no great number of men slain in battle; and, to know the truth of it, there was one called Statilius that promised to go through his enemies, for otherwise it was impossible to go see their camp; and from thence, if all were well, that he would lift up a torch-light in the air, and then return again with speed to him. The torch-light was lift up as he had promised, for Statilius went thither. Now, Brutus seeing Statilius tarry long after that, and that he came not again, he said, 'If Statilius be alive, he will come again.' But his evil fortune was such that, as he came back, he lighted in his enemies' hands and was slain. Now the night being far spent, Brutus as he sat bowed towards Clitus, one of his men, and told him somewhat in his ear: the other answered him not, but fell a-weeping. Thereupon he proved[A] Dardanus, and said somewhat also to him: at length he came to Volumnius himself, and speaking to him in Greek, prayed him for the studies' sake which brought them acquainted together, that he would help him to put his hand to his sword, to thrust it in him to kill him. Volumnius denied his request, and so did many others."--Plutarch, _Marcus Brutus_.]
VOLUMNIUS. That's not an office for a friend, my lord. [_Alarum still_] CLITUS. Fly, fly, my lord; there is no tarrying here. 30 [Note 27: /prithee/ | prethee Ff.] [Note 28: /sword-hilts/ | Sword Hilts F1 F2 | Swords Hilt F3 F4.--/whilst/ | whilest F1 F2 | while F3 F4.] [Note 17: "The second battle being at hand, this spirit appeared again unto him, but spake never a word. Thereupon Brutus, knowing that he should die, did put himself to all hazard in battle, but yet fighting could not be slain."--Plutarch, _Julius Cæsar_. Merivale has a strong sentence on this: "The legend that when preparing for the encounter with the triumvirs he was visited by the ghost of Cæsar, which summoned him to meet again at Philippi, marks the conviction of the ancients that in the crisis of his fate he was stung by guilty remorse, and haunted by the presentiment of final retribution."] [Note 26: See quotation from Plutarch, _Marcus Brutus_, p. 163.] [Page 165] BRUTUS. Farewell to you; and you; and you, Volumnius. Strato, thou hast been all this while asleep; Farewell to thee, too, Strato. Countrymen, My heart doth joy that yet in all my life I found no man but he was true to me. 35 I shall have glory by this losing day, More than Octavius and Mark Antony By this vile conquest shall attain unto. So, fare you well at once; for Brutus' tongue Hath almost ended his life's history: 40 Night hangs upon mine eyes; my bones would rest, That have but labour'd to attain this hour.
Text from Project Gutenberg, public domain in the United States.