P. 115. Woe to the hands that shed this costly blood! — The original has hand instead of hands. But Antony says to the stabbers a little before, “whilst your purpled hands do reek,” &c.

P. 115. A curse shall light upon the limbs of men. It is quite amazing how much has been done, to help this innocent passage: as changes made and proposed, in order to get rid of limbs, we have kind, line, loins, lives, times, tombs, sons, and minds. If any change be necessary, I should say souls, which, beginning with the long s, might easily be misprinted limbs. But what need of change? See footnote 40.

P. 116. Passion, I see, is catching; for mine eyes,

Seeing those beads of sorrow stand in thine,

Begin to water. — The original has from instead of for, and Began instead of Begin; — palpable errors, both.

P. 119. Do grace to Cæsar's corpse, and grace his speech, Tending to Cæsar's glory. The original has "Cæsar's GloCorrected by Walker. Brutus has just said "his glory not

ries."

extenuated."

P. 122. If thou consider rightly of the matter,

Cæsar has had great wrong.

3 Cit.

Has he not, masters? - The

original lacks not. Inserted by Professor Craik. Walker says, “Perhaps we should read 'Has he, my masters?'”

P. 126. For I have neither wit, nor words, nor worth, &c. —

So the second folio. The first has writ instead of wit.

P. 129. I heard 'em say, Brutus and Cassius

Are rid like madmen through the gates of Rome. - The

original reads "I heard him say."

ACT III., SCENE III.

P. 129. I dreamt to-night that I did feast with Cæsar,

And things unlucky charge my fantasy. - So Warburton. The original has unluckily instead of unlucky. Walker says, "undoubt. edly unlucky." See foot-note I.

ACT IV., SCENE I.

P. 133. A barren-spirited fellow; one who feeds

On objects, arts, and imitations,

Which, out of use and staled, &c. - Theobald and, after him, Dyce read “abject orts and imitations." This is, to me, little less than shocking. It is true, Shakespeare uses both abject and orts; and I presume we all know the meaning of both those words: but is it credible that he could have been guilty of such a combination as abject orts? Besides, does not the word imitations show that he had in mind works of art? And why may not objects stand for any common objects of interest or curiosity? The Clarendon edition prints "abjects, orts and imitations"; which is certainly no improvement on Theobald's reading. As to the objections urged against the old reading, I can but say they are to me only not quite so absurd as the changes they are made to cover. See foot-note 7.

P. 134. Therefore let our alliance be combined,

Our best friends made, our means stretch'd out. So the first folio, with the exception of the word out. The second folio makes a full line, such as it is, thus: "Our best friends made, and our best means stretch'd out." Neither reading is satisfactory, and modern editors are, I believe, about equally divided between the two.

P. 135.

ACT IV., SCENE II.

Your master, Pindarus,

- So Hanmer and

In his own charge, or by ill officers, &c. Warburton. The old text has change instead of charge. The latter word, it seems to me, does not give the right sense; and we have many instances of change and charge misprinted for each other.

P. 136. Lucius, do you the like; and let no man

Come to our tent till we have done our conference. —

Lucilius and Titinius, guard the door. Here, in the original, the names Lucius and Lucilius got shuffled each into the other's place; and then, to cure the metrical defect in the third line, that line was made to begin with Let. Modern editors generally have rectified the metre of the first line by striking out you, -"Lucilius, do the like," &c. But this leaves things quite wrong in regard to the persons; for Lucilius is an officer of rank; yet he is thus put to doing the work of what we call an orderly, while Lucius, the orderly, or errand-boy, is set in the officer's place. We are indebted to Professor Craik for rectifying this piece of disorder.-In the third line, the original reads "guard our door." Probably an accidental repetition of our from the line above. Corrected by Rowe.

ACT IV., SCENE III.

P. 137. Whereas my letters, praying on his side

Because I knew the man, were slighted off. - Instead of Whereas, the original has Wherein, which cannot easily be made to yield a fitting sense.

P. 137. And let me tell you, Cassius, you yourself

Are much condemn'd to have an itching palm. So Capell. The original is without And at the beginning of the speech. Other editors have supplied Yet. Some such insertion is fairly required for the prosody.

P. 138. I had rather be a dog, and bay the Moon,

Than such a Roman.

Cass.

Brutus, bay not me, &c. - Instead of the second bay, the original reads baite, which has the same meaning indeed; but probably, as Dyce says, "the author intended Cassius to echo the word used by Brutus." The correction is Theobald's.

Older in practice, abler than yourself, &c.—So Steevens. The original reads "I am a Souldier, I," &c. The affirmative particle

ay is there very often printed I; and such I think is the case here; for the repetition of the pronoun I seems awkward and unnatural.

P. 140.

For mine own part,

I shall be glad to learn of abler men. - So Collier's second folio. The original has “ of Noble men." As Cassius has in fact used the word abler, there can, I think, bę little scruple about the correction.

P. 142. A flatterer's would not, though they did appear As huge as high Olympus. —So Collier's second folio. The original has "though they do appear."

P. 143.

Yes, Cassius; and henceforth,

When you are over-earnest with your Brutus, &c. — The original reads “and from henceforth." Here from is palpably redundant both in metre and in sense. Shakespeare probably wrote from hence, and then corrected the latter word into henceforth; and both got printed together. Capell omits from.

P. 148. Come on refresh'd, new-aided, and encouraged. — So Dyce and Singer. The original has new added instead of new-aided. Collier's second folio has "new-hearted."

P. 149. Lucius, my gown!- Farewell now, good Messala: Good night, Titinius: &c.—The original is without now. Some such insertion is required for the metre. Hanmer printed “Now, farewell," and Walker says, "Perhaps fare you well."

P. 150. Varro and Claudius! Here, and again afterwards, in the text, as also in the stage-directions, the original has Varrus and Claudio. There is, I believe, no doubt that the right names are Claudius and Varro. As before noted, Flavius and Octavius are repeatedly misprinted Flavio and Octavio.

ACT V., SCENE I.

P. 156. Whilst damnèd Casca, like a cur, behind

Struck Cæsar on the neck. O flatterers! - The original has "O you Flatterers." Reasons of prosody caused you to be struck out long ago; but some recent editors restore it.

P. 158. Be thou my witness that against my will,
As Pompey was, I am compell'd to set
Upon one battle all our liberties.

order of I am.

The original inverts the

But "be witness that am I compell'd" is not an Eng

lish construction. Corrected by Walker.

P. 158. Coming from Sardis, on our foremost ensign Two mighty eagles fell; &c. - Instead of foremost, the original has former, which is said to have been sometimes used in the sense of foremost. But the passage cited as proving such a usage seems to me irrelevant. The correction is Rowe's.

ACT V., SCENE III.

P. 167. Thou last of all the Romans, fare thee well! - Instead of Thou, the original has The. The old abbreviations of the and thou were often confounded. Corrected by Rowe.

SOS.

P. 167. Come, therefore, and to Thassos send his body:
His funerals shall not be in our camp,

Lest it discomfort us. — The original has Thassus for ThasCorrected by Theobald. Properly it should be Thasos; but North's Plutarch has it Thassos.· Some have changed funerals to funeral; also, in the next scene but one, hilts to hilt. But funerals and hilts are old forms of the singular in those words. See page 164, note 6.

ACT V., SCENE IV.

P. 168. I'll tell the news.

Here comes the general.

The

original reads "Ile tell thee newes." Pope's correction.

ACT V., SCENE V.

P. 172. I shall have glory by this losing day,

More than Octavius and Mark Antony

By their vile conquest shall attain unto. - The original reads "By this vile conquest." Walker proposes their, and adds, "The repetition seems awkward and un-Shakespearian.”