Julius Cæsar

Front matter

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Introduction

XIX ning their day's loafing. It is too early for any of the luxurious nobles to be abroad. Only a solitary stoic stares disapprovingly at the rings on our senator's fingers, and dismisses him from his mind with a contemptuous sniff; for the stoics affected disregard of pleasures; despised griefs too, holding that life should be taken dispassionately and that so long as the " self," or soul, was well, no regard should be paid to things external to it. They disapproved of the luxury that was rife in Rome, and saw in it the decay of the republic.

Before his door our senator meets the freedman who is going upon the voyage, and joyfully repeats to him the words of the augur, " Aves admit tunt. " Immediately the man posts away to his ship, eager to be gone.

Interior of a Roman House.

While the slave cleanses his master of the dust of the street, let us glance at the house. It is a long building, a story and a half in height, as we should say. There are no windows below, and only small ones above ; and there is little external ornament except a porch in front. The door opens into the vestibule {vestibidum), where the porter sits by the door leading into his lodge, a small room at the right. Thence one passes into the utrium, a great rectangular room, the center of the home; here the household gods, the Lares and Penates, are kept. The

XX

LIFE OF AN ARISTOCRATIC ROMAN.

walls are covered with paintings, and are hung with trophies of war. In the center is a marble pool, or cistern (imp I avium), flush with the floor, and above it, in the roof, is an opening (compluvium) of the same size, through which the rain falls, to be caught below. This opening serves, too, as an egress for the smoke of the hearth fire, which is at the farther end of the pool, and whose smoke, blackening the rafters, gave rise to the name atrium or "black room." All about the atrium are small rooms for the various uses of the house, and beyond is the master's office (tablinwri), on each side of which is a reception room. Beyond these is the peristylum, an open court, with a garden space, surrounded by columns sitpporting a kind of porch, or balcony. Off this are the dining room and the kitchen, and if the house be large and rich, other rooms whose uses we need not detail.

After the senator has made himself ready for his morning duties he goes to his tablinum, and receives two of his clients, men who have given up their citizenship in some foreign city to settle in Roman territory, where, as they have no legal rights, they are obliged to seek the protection of a Roman citizen. The senator listens to their pleas. One wants to arrange for the purchase of a piece of land adjacent to what he now possesses; the other wants redress against a wicked plebeian who has beaten him in a horse trade. They receive their assurances, and depart.

By this time, the senator is very hungry, for it is the third hour of the day; and he is glad to welcome his wife and his children, who come in from the pei-istylum to bid him to breakfast (ientaculum). Like himself, his wife is dressed in a tunica, the house dress, a light robe reaching to the calves, and gathered below the breast by a girdle. When she goes into the street she wears over this a woolen cloak {pa I la) similar to her husband's toga. The son, a youth of thirteen, and the two young daughters, are dressed much like the parents.

When the boy goes into the street he wears a toga with a purple border (toga praetexta), but when he is

The Front of a House

(The second story overhangs the first).

INTRODUCTION. XXI

sixteen, he will exchange this for the robe of pure white wool worn by men [toga virilis). The daughters may abandon the purple edge only when they are married.

The family goes to the peristylum, where, after the washing of hands and a prayer to the household gods, the morning meal is served, the father reclining on a couch, and the mother and children sitting around the table. The breakfast is simple, consisting mainly of bread dipped in wine or spread with honey; to which are added olives and perhaps other fruits. The meal over, the senator bids his son study well his Greek for the day, and pay careful heed to his teacher {gramma/icus), then has himself arrayed in his toga, calls his litter, and is carried away to a meeting of the senate, which has been called by one of the consuls to meet in the Curia of Pompey.

The three tribes of the patrician class of Rome were divided into thirty groups, called curiae, each of which was in turn divided into genies, or families. Each curia had its presiding officer; and over all was a general officer called the curiae maxim us; each curia had also its building, called by the same name. The greatest of these structures was the Curia Hostilia, built by king Hostilius. This was called the senate house. It was burnt in the year 52, B. c; and Faustus Sulla, the son of the dictator, began on the same spot the Curia Cornelia, the work on which Caesar stopped, and began in its place the Curia Julia. This building was consecrated by Augustus in 29, B. C, long after Caesar's death, and much of the intervening time must have been spent in its construction. The building to which our senator is bound, the Curia Pompeii, the scene of Caesar's death — not the Capitol, as Shakespeare says — was in the entrance hall of the theater which this great Roman built to gain favor with the people and to eclipse the extravagance of Caesar's aedileship. It was the first stone theater built in Rome, was unequalled in magnificence, and seated forty thousand people. At its consecration, five hundred lions and eighteen elephants were slaughtered by gladiators in the arena. Pompey did not succeed so well as he had hoped, for the populace, being in a mood more merciful than usual, were moved by the piteous cries of the huge monsters of the jungle, and thought they were appealing for the protection of the Roman people.

To return to our senator. After he has left the Palatine Hill, the aristocratic quarter of Rome in which he lives, his road lies along the Via Sacra (sacred street); thence through the Tor urn, around the xxn

LIFE OF AN ARISTOCRATIC ROMAN.

Capitoline Hill, in a northwesternly direction to the Theater of Pompey [Thedtrum Pompeii), in all, a distance of a mile and a half or two miles. By the time he has alighted from his litter and hurried into the meeting place, the senators have taken their benches, the consuls, the

praetors, and the tribunes have ascended their platform, and the meeting has been opened by the consuls. When the business of the meeting has been stated, the consuls arise in turn and give their opinions; then the senators themselves, after which all separate into groups for the vote, a bare majority being decisive. There being none but the special business, the senate is adjourned, the presiding officer appoints a committee to draw up the resolution in the proper form to be communicated to the persons concerned, or, if it be a law, to be published by the magistrates at the popular assemblies, then to be inscribed on wood or bronze, and hung up in the temple of Fides (faith).

Thanking the gods for the shortness of the meeting, our senator hurries out, finds his own among the confusion of litters, and is glad to escape from the host of jangling slaves who carry them. On his way home he stops to chat with some friends in the Forum, the great open place surrounded by temples and basilicas (halls of justice and places of public meetings) that is the very center of the Roman world. It lies between the Palatine, the Capitoline, and the Quirinal Hills. Here the people worshiped the gods, had their popular assemblies, and met to discuss their private affairs; and here the judges administered justice. If it be true that all roads lead to Rome, it is equally true that all streets lead to the Forum.

Home again, our senatcr partakes of the midday lunch {prandmm),

A Roman Dressed in the Toga.

INTR OD UCTION. xxill

at which an abundance of warm and cold dishes, with wine, is served; and after a rest he is carried away to the wooden amphitheater built by Caesar, where it is the privilege of his rank to sit in the front benches, and view the combats of gladiators and wild beasts. Wearying of the sport, which no longer excites him as it once did, he saunters away from

The Circus Maximus.

the howling multitude, and seeks the cool of the public baths. His ancestors had been content to bathe their faces, arms, and legs once a day, and the entire body once a week in the lavatrina, a small room placed next the kitchen, where warm water might be easily obtained; but his own times provide public places of bathing, where one may for a quadrans, the smallest piece of money coined, have the luxury of hot and cold water, attendance of slaves, and a place to lounge and chat with his friends. The richness of the buildings, however, and the variety of ways of bathing, have by no means reached the degree attained under the empire.

The event of our senator's day is now approaching — cena, or dinner, with one of his aristocratic friends. He retires to his house beforehand, makes his toilet, not forgetting to take an emetic so that he may be fully prepared for a difficult gastronomic feat, orders his attendant slave to carry the colored tunic (vestis cenatoria) he is to wear at his friend's

XXIV LIFE OF AN ARISTOCRATIC ROMAN.

table, also a towel for drying his hands and for carrying the gift or favor he expects to receive, and with fresh slaves for his litter, again takes the street. Having arrived at his host's dwelling, he is admitted with his slave, who is to serve him at table, is met by the master of the house and the other guests, changes his toga for the gaudy tunic, has his street sandals exchanged for lighter ones, and goes with the party to the dining room (triclinium) adjoining the peristyle. Here the nomenc/ator, a slave whose duty, among other things, is to place the guests at table and to name the dishes as they are served, assigns him to the place of honor next his host, for rank is a matter of vital importance at the best Roman dinners. The table (mensa) is square, and has couches on three sides, the fourth being left open for the approach of the slaves who serve. On the right-hand couch reclines the host, with his wife at his right, and perhaps one of their children beyond her; at his left, on the middle couch, reclines his chief guest with two others, and three more on the left couch, making in all a group of nine, the usual number for a dinner party. Water is brought by the slaves, and the guests wash their hands and dry them on their towels.

After an invocation to the gods, the dinner begins. It is divided into three parts; the first, called by several names (promulsis, gustatio, gustus, frVgida mensa), is rather to whet the appetite than to satisfy hunger, and consists of crabs, boiled eggs, mushrooms, salads, vegetables with piquant sauces, and olives, all of which are washed down with mulsum, a blend of wins and honey. As these viands are served, the guests lie flat upon their breasts across the couches, within easy reach of the tables; they eat with spoons or with their fingers, for table knives and forks are yet to be invented. Again water is poured upon the hands of the guests, and they are ready for the second, the substantial part of the meal.

This is the cena proper, which consists of several courses, usually three, and sometimes as many as seven. The dishes are served artistically arranged on wooden and silver trays; a special slave (scissor) carves the meats on the open side of the table. It would be wearisome to detail the many dishes served at the dinners of the wealthy, at this and especially at later times; extravagant millionaires are said to have vied with each other in loading their boards with all the delicacies provided by earth, sea, and air, and in paying the highest prices for skilled cooks. It is said that the Romans knew fifty ways in which to prepare pork; and under the empire, some dishes were prepared so elaborately that

INTRODUCTION.

xxv even the most fastidious gourmands could not tell what they were eating. Wine, mixed with warm or cold water, is the drink for this part of the meal, and it is taken sparingly, lest the taste be blunted.

At the end of the second part of the cena proper, water is again brought for the guests' hands; a silence falls upon the scene, while prayer is offered to the Lares, after which the third part of the banquet (mensae secundae) is served — cakes, pastry, and fruits.

Now begins the heavy drinking {commissatio). The guests are crowned with wreaths, and one is chosen master of the drinking {magister bibendi). He determines what proportion of water there shall be to the wine, and the amount each guest shall drink. Now the guests, having their hunger fully satisfied, recline dii their sides, supporting themselves on their left arms, chat volubly, listen to the music of flute and lyre, laugh at the jests of hired entertainers, and watch the mimics and dancing girls, thus whiling away the hours in the enjoyment of rest and good feeding.

The dinner has been a long one, lasting perhaps from the ninth to the thirteenth! hour; the guests leave the triclinium, unsteadily no doubt, are again clothed in their togas, and shod with street sandals, thank their host for the pleasure and the present he has given them, and depart. They drowse as they bob along in their litters, and the slaves who carry them call down curses on the heavy wagons that block the streets. No sooner home than to bed. Our Roman aristocrat's day is over.

THE METER OF THE PLAY.

Meter is not an invention of man. It is suggested in a hundred natural ways — by the regular movement of the feet in marching and dancing, by the sound of oars in their locks, and by the beat of the hoofs of galloping horses. Poetry and music probably had their origin in the ceremonial dances about the altars of the ancient gods, and in the stories soldiers told of their deeds as they marched or rode to war. At such times the heart exults, the emotions rise to a high pitch, and the words naturally fall in with the rhythm. Verse feet of two beats, as the iamb and the trochee, probably came from marching and dancing, while those of three, as the anapest and the dactyl, were doubtless suggested by a horse's canter. No poem in English affords a better galloping movement than Tennyson's "Northern Farmer." As the old man rides along the road with his son by his side, he tries to persuade the boy to marry a girl who is rich. He says, —

" DosnU thou ''ear my 'ers'e's legs, as they canters aivally ? Proputty, proptitty, proputty — that's what I 'ears 'em saay."

It can not be overlooked, too, that the word, "proputty," has another natural poetical quality, onomatoparia ; it is the very sound of the horse's hollow hoof-beat on the hard road. This same dactylic measure is that of Longfellow's " Evangeline."

Shakespeare used the two-syllable measure ; his lines have five feet, and are usually without rime. The technical name for this measure, is blank verse, or rimeless iambic pentameter.

An iambic foot (" ~) has its first syllable unaccented, and its second one accented; thus, in the line, —

When beg \ gars die \ there are \ no com \ ets seen, we find five feet, each of which receives an accent on the second syllable only. The skillful poet, however, avoids using only iambic feet, for the effect would be as monotonous as the ticking of a clock. Thus in the line, —

We are \ two li \ ons lit \ ter'd in \ one day \ we see that the first foot has its first syllable accented, the second has both, the fourth neither, and the fifth both, while the third is the only one that is regular, that is, iambic.

The consideration of the line leads to the observation that there are three kinds of syllables that receive the stress of voice called by the genxxvi

INTR OB UCTION. xxvn

eral name of accent. First, there are words of more than one syllable, like " litter'd," that have an accent on one syllable, and like " anticipation," that have two, or even more accents. Second, there are words that require emphasis because they are important in the expression of the thought; and third, there are those that have a greater quantity of sound than is usual. Thus the words "we," "two," and" one " must be emphasized because an expressive reading so demands, while in the line, — -

His pri | vate ar \ bors and | new plant | ed or j c/iards, the syllables "bors" and "chards," though not accented, have a greater length and amount of sound, and therefore are given stress. It would be easy to multiply examples from the play. One more may be noticed in the line, —

Like a \ phan tas \ ma, or \ a hid \ eous dream. The word " phantasma " receives the accent on the second syllable, but the first has distinct quantity.

With these lines for illustration, proceed to mark the scansion of lines, marking long or accented, all syllables that have accent, emphasis or quantity, and the rest short, or unaccented ; then divide the line into five feet. You will find that several kinds of feet are frequently substituted for the iambic foot. They are the trochee (~ v ), the spondee ( ), the pyrrhic (" w ), the anapest ( v v ~).

There is much more to be learned of Shakespeare's meter than can be mentioned here, but one more thing must be said — that he often has an extra syllable at the end of a line, as in that which contains the word "orchards," and in this, —

/ hear | a tongue \ shriller | than all \ the mu \ sic. This variation of the meter prevents monotony, as does also the distribution of pauses. The earlier writers in blank verse made so many pauses at the ends of lines that the rhythm was spoiled. This, Shakespeare carefully avoids. It is to be noticed, too, that there are many short lines, as "Be gone," that the ending -Hon is often pronounced in two syllables, as, —

The na \ tnre of \ an in \ surrec \ Hon, and that final -ed\% often sounded.

To conclude, it must be remembered that in expressive reading little thought of the meter need be taken. Read the lines just as you would prose, except for the endings, -Hon and -ed, when they require the changes indicated, and except for a few differences in Shakespeare's accent of words. Otherwise the scansion takes care of itself.

CHRONOLOGY FROM THE TIMES OF THE GRACCHI TO THE BATTLE OF PHILIPPI.

133. Tiberius Gracchus, the champion of the people, slain. 121. Death of Caius Gracchus, brother of the former. :i-io6. Jugurthan War, in which Metellus and Marius were the successful Roman generals. 106. Cicero born. 102. Marius overcomes the Teutones at Aix (Aquae Sextiae) in

Gaul. 101. Marius overcomes the Cimbri at Vercellse. 100. Caesar born. 90-88. Social War, in which the Latin states contest for Roman suffrage. 88. Sulla drives Marius from Rome. 87. Marius returns; bloody proscription. 83. Sulla returns; another proscription. 79. Sulla abdicates. 88-84. First Mithridatic War, fought by Sulla. 84-82. Second Mithridatic War, fought by Murena. 74-64. Third Mithridatic War, fought by Lucullus and Pompey. 81-72. Sertorian War in Spain.

73-71. War with the gladiators, Spartacus being their leader. 67-66. Pompey overcomes the pirates. 64-62. Conspiracies of Catiline. 63. Cicero consul.

60. First Triumvirate — Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus. 59. Caius Julius Caesar consul. 58-50. Caesar's conquest of Gaul. 58-57. Cicero banished and recalled.

Spain. 48. Battle of Pharsalia, Pompey killed in Egypt.

xxviii

INTRODUCTION.

XXIX

48-47. Ciesar in Egypt.

47. Battle of Zela, in Pontus, in which Caesar overcomes Pharnaces,

the son of Mithridates, and sends to the Senate the famous

dispatch, " Veni, vidi, vici." 46. Rattle of Thapsus, in Africa, in which Caesar finally defeats

the army of Pompey.

Battle of Munda, in Spain, in which Caesar overthrows Pom-

pey's sons. (This is the victory for which he was given the

triumph mentioned in the play.) Caesar assassinated, on the ides of March.

Second Triumvirate — Antonius, Octavius (Augustus), and

Lepidus.

Cicero killed.

Battle of Philippi, in which the triumvirs overcome Brutus and

Cassius.

A Roman Soldier.

JULIUS CESAR.

DRAMATIS PERSONS.

) triun )- the i Juli mvirs after death of s Caesar.

senators

Julius C.-ksar. octavius caesar, Marcus Antonius, M. /Emilius Lepidus, Cicero,

PUBLIUS,

Popilius Lena, Marcus Brutus, Cassius, Casca, Treronius,

LlGARIUS,

Decius Brutus, Metellus Cimber, J

ClNNA,

Flavius and Marullus, tribunes.

Artp.midorus of Cnidos, a teacher of

Rhetoric.

A Soothsayer.

Cinna, a poet. Another Poet.

conspirators against Julius Caesar.

friends to Brutus and Cassius.

servants to Brutus.

Lucilius,

TlTINIUS,

Messala, Young Cato,

VoLUMNIUS,

Varro,

Clitus,

Claudius,

Strato,

Lucius,

Dardanius, J

Pindarus, servant to Cassius.

Calpurnia, wife to Caesar.

Portia, wife to Brutus.

Senators, Citizens, Guards, Attendants, &c.

Scene: Rome: the neighborhood of Sardis: the neighborhood of J °hili 'ppi.

Scene I. Rome. A street. Enter Flavius, Marullus, and certain Commoners

Flav. Hence! home, you idle creatures, get you home: Is this a holiday ? what! know you not, Being mechanical, you ought not walk Upon a laboring day without the sign Of your profession ? Speak, what trade art thou ?

First Com. Why, sir, a carpenter.

Mar. Where is thy leather apron and thy rule ? What dost thou with thy best apparel on ?

You, sir, what trade are you ?

2 JULIUS CALSAR.

Sec. Com. Truly, sir, in respect of a fine workman, I am but, as you would say, a cobbler, TI

Mar. But what trade art thou ? answer me directly.

Sec. Com. A trade, sir, that, I hope, I may use with a safe conscience; which is, indeed, sir, a mender of bad soles.

Mar. What trade, thou knave? thou naughty knave, what trade ?

Sec. Com. Nay, I beseech you, sir, be not out with me: yet, if you be out, sir, I can mend you.

Mar, What meanest thou by that? mend me, thou saucy fellow!

Sec. Com. Why, sir, cobble you. 2n

Flav. Thou art a cobbler, art thou ?

Sec. Com. Truly, sir, all that I live by is with the awl: I meddle with no tradesman's matters, nor woman's matters, but with awl. I am, indeed, sir, a surgeon to old shoes; when they are in great danger, I recover them. As proper men as ever trod upon neat's leather have gone upon my handiwork.

Flav. But wherefore art not in thy shop to-day ? Why dost thou lead these men about the streets ?

Sec. Com. Truly, sir, to wear out their shoes, to

get myself into more work. But, indeed, sir, we

make holiday, to see Caesar and to rejoice in his

triumph. y-

J Mar. Wherefore rejoice? What conquest brings

he home ?

What tributaries follow him to Rome, To grace in captive bonds his chariot-wheels?

A CT I. SCENE I. 7

You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless

things !

O you hard hearts, you cruel men of Rome, Knew you not Pompey? Many a time and oft Have you climb'd up to walls and battlements, To towers and windows, yea, to chimney-tops, 4C

Your infants in your arms, and there have sat The live-long day, with patient expectation, To see great Pompey pass the streets of Rome: And when you saw his chariot but appear, Have you not made an universal shout, That Tiber trembled underneath her banks, To hear the replication of your sounds Made in her concave shores ?

And do you now put on your best attire ?

And do you now cull out a holiday ? 5 o

And do you now strew flowers in his way That comes in triumph over Pompey's blood ?

Be gone!

Run to your houses, fall upon your knees, Pray to the gods to intermit the plague That needs must light on this ingratitude.

Flav. Go, go, good countrymen, and, for this fault, Assemble all the poor men of your sort; Draw them to Tiber banks, and weep your tears Into the channel, till the lowest stream 6o

Do kiss the most exalted shores of all.

[Exeunt all the Commoners.

See, whether their basest metal be not moved; They vanish tongue-tied in their guiltiness.

4 JULIUS CMSAR.

Go you down that way towards the Capitol;

This way will I: disrobe the images,

If you do find them deck d with ceremonies.

Mar. May we do so ?

You know it is the feast of Lupercal.

FlaVo It is no matter; let no images Be hung with Caesar's trophies. I'll about, 7 o

And drive away the vulgar from the streets: So do .you too, where you perceive them thick. These growing feathers pluck'd from Caesar's wing Will make him fly an ordinary pitch, Who else would soar above the view of men And keep us all in servile fearfulness. [Exeunt.

Scene II. A public place

Flourish. Enter Caesar; Antony, for the course ;

Calpurnia, Portia, Dec i us, Cicero, Brutus,

Cassius, and Casca; a great crowd following,

among them a Soothsayer.

Cess. Calpurnia!

Casca. Peace, ho! Caesar speaks.

Cces. Calpurnia!

Cal. Here, my lord.

Cces. Stand you directly in Antonius' way, When he doth run his course. Antonius!

Ant. Caesar, my lord ?

Cces. Forget not, in your speed, Antonius, To touch Calpurnia; for our elders say, The barren, touched in this holy chase, Shake off their sterile curse.

ACT I. SCENE II. 5

j\ n t. I shall remember:

When Caesar says "do this," it is perform 'd.

Ccus. Set on; and leave no ceremony out.

[Flourish.

Sooth. Caesar!

Ccus. Ha! who calls?

Casca. Bid every noise be still: peace yet again !

Ccus. Who is it in the press that calls on me ? I hear a tongue, shriller than all the music, Cry " Caesar!" Speak; Caesar is turn'd to hear.

Sooth. Beware the ides of March.

Cess. What man is that ?

Bru. A soothsayer bids you beware the ides of March.

Ccus. Set him before me; let me see his face.

Cos. Fellow, come from the throng; look upon Caesar.

Ccus. What say'st thou to me now? speak once again.

Sooth. Bgware the ides of March.

Ccus. He is a dreamer; let us leave him: pass.

[Sennet. Exeunt all but Brutus and Cassius.

Cos. Will you go see the order of the course ?

Bru. Not I,

Cos. I pray you, do.

Bru. I am not gamesome : I do lack some part Of that quick spirit that is in Antony.

Let me not hinder, Cassius, your desires ; I'll leave you.

Cas. Brutus, I do observe you now of late: I have not from your eyes that gentleness And show of love as I was wont to have: You bear too stubborn and too strange a hand Over your friend that loves you.

Brn. Cassius,

Be not deceived: if I have veil'd my look, I turn the trouble of my countenance Merely upon myself. Vexed I am Of late with passions of some difference, 4 °

Conceptions only proper to myself, Which give some soil perhaps to my behaviors; But let not therefore my good friends be grieved— Among which number, Cassius, be you one — Nor construe any further my neglect, Than that poor Brutus, with himself at war, Forgets the shows of love to other men.

Cas. Then, Brutus, I have much mistook your passion ; By means whereof this breast of mine hath buried Thoughts of great value, worthy cogitations.

Tell me, good Brutus, can you see your face ?

Bru. No, Cassius; for the eye sees not itself, But by reflection, by some other things.

Cas. 'Tis just: And it is very much lamented, Brutus, That you have no such mirrors as will turn Your hidden worthiness into your eye, That you might see your shadow. I have heard, Where many of the best respect in Rome,

ACT I. SCENE II. j

Except immortal Caesar, speaking of Brutus 6o

And groaning underneath this age's yoke, Have wish'd that noble Brutus had his eyes. '

Bru. Into what dangers would you lead me, Cassius, That you would have me seek into myself For that which is not in me ?

Cas. Therefore, good Brutus, be prepared to hear: And since you know you cannot see yourself So well as by reflection, I, your glass, ^-Will modestly discover to yourself That of yourself which you yet know not of. 7 °