ACT 5
[Alarums. Enter CASSIUS and TITINIUS]
CASSIUS
O, look, Titinius, look, the villains fly!
Titinius, look! Our own soldiers desert us!
Myself have to mine own turned enemy:
I’m now the enemy of my own troops.
This ensign here of mine was turning back;
This standard-bearing soldier turned to run;
I slew the coward, and did take it from him.
I killed the coward and I took the flag.
TITINIUS
O Cassius, Brutus gave the word too early;
Oh Cassius, Brutus cried ‘attack’ too early,
Who, having some advantage on Octavius,
Who, with the upper-hand over Octavius,
Took it too eagerly: his soldiers fell to spoil,
Got cocky with their eagerness; they looted,
Whilst we by Antony are all enclosed.
Whilst Antony surrounded all of us.
[Enter PINDARUS]
PINDARUS
Fly further off, my lord, fly further off;
Retreat some more, my lord, retreat some more!
Mark Antony is in your tents, my lord
Mark Antony has overrun your tents.
Fly, therefore, noble Cassius, fly far off.
And so, retreat as far from here, Cassius.
CASSIUS
This hill is far enough. Look, look, Titinius;
This hill is far enough. Look, look, Titinius,
Are those my tents where I perceive the fire?
Is that my camp that seems to be on fire?
TITINIUS
They are, my lord.
It is, my lord.
CASSIUS
Titinius, if thou lovest me,
Titinius, if you love me,
Mount thou my horse, and hide thy spurs in him,
Get on my horse and spur it on to canter
Till he have brought thee up to yonder troops,
Until he’s got you up beside those troops,
And here again; that I may rest assured
And then come back so I can know for sure
Whether yond troops are friend or enemy.
If all those troops are friends or enemies.
TITINIUS
I will be here again, even with a thought.
I’ll go and I’ll be back, quick as a flash.
[Exit]
CASSIUS
Go, Pindarus, get higher on that hill;
Go, Pindarus, climb higher up that hill.
My sight was ever thick; regard Titinius,
My eyesight isn’t good. Watch for Titinius
And tell me what thou notest about the field.
And share your observations of the battle.
[PINDARUS ascends the hill]
This day I breathed first: time is come round,
My birthday; I first breathed this day. But now
And where I did begin, there shall I end;
I’m back to where I started, and will end;
My life is run his compass. Sirrah, what news?
My life has run its course. Man, what’s the news?
PINDARUS
[Above]
O my lord!
Oh, my lord!
CASSIUS
What news?
What’s happening?
PINDARUS
[Above]
Titinius is enclosed round about
Titinius is surrounded totally
With horsemen, that make to him on the spur;
By mounted horsemen charging straight at him,
Yet he spurs on. Now they are almost on him.
But he is charging back. They’re almost on him.
Now, Titinius! Now some light. O, he lights too.
Go on, Titinius! They’re dismounting; him too!
He's ta'en.
He’s captured.
[Shout]
And, hark! They shout for joy.
Listen how they cheer in triumph.
CASSIUS
Come down, behold no more.
Come down; don’t watch it longer.
O, coward that I am, to live so long,
Oh, what a coward I am that I’ve lived
To see my best friend ta'en before my face!
To see my best friend captured in full view.
[PINDARUS descends]
Come hither, sirrah:
Come here, man,
In Parthia did I take thee prisoner;
I took you prisoner in Parthia
And then I swore thee, saving of thy life,
And made you swear, except for taking your life,
That whatsoever I did bid thee do,
That whatsoever I told you to do,
Thou shouldst attempt it. Come now, keep thine oath;
You would attempt it. Come now, keep your promise.
Now be a freeman: and with this good sword,
I grant you now your freedom; with this sword
That ran through Caesar's bowels, search this bosom.
That I stabbed Caesar with, find where my heart is.
Stand not to answer: here, take thou the hilts;
Don’t answer back. Here, take it by the handle,
And, when my face is covered, as 'tis now,
And, when my eyes are closed, as they are now,
Guide thou the sword.
You stab the sword.
[PINDARUS stabs him]
Caesar, thou art revenged,
Caesar, you’ve got revenge.
Even with the sword that killed thee.
And even with the sword that you were killed by.
[Dies]
PINDARUS
So, I am free; yet would not so have been,
So I am free, but I would not have been
Durst I have done my will. O Cassius,
If I’d done what I wanted. Oh, Cassius!
Far from this country Pindarus shall run,
I’ll run from here as far as I can go
Where never Roman shall take note of him.
Where there aren’t Romans who might recognise me.
[Exit]
[Re-enter TITINIUS with MESSALA]
MESSALA
It is but change, Titinius; for Octavius
We’ve swapped, Titinius, for Octavius
Is overthrown by noble Brutus' power,
Was beaten by the noble power of Brutus,
As Cassius' legions are by Antony.
Just as Cassius lost out to Antony.
TITINIUS
These tidings will well comfort Cassius.
This news will go down well with Cassius.
MESSALA
Where did you leave him?
Where did you leave him?
TITINIUS
All disconsolate,
Inconsolable,
With Pindarus his bondman, on this hill.
With Pindarus, his slave, up on this hill.
MESSALA
Is not that he t hat lies upon the ground?
Is that not him there, lying on the ground?
TITINIUS
He lies not like the living. O my heart!
He doesn’t look alive. Oh, goodness me!
MESSALA
Is not that he?
Is that not him?
TITINIUS
No, this was he, Messala,
No, it was him, Messala,
But Cassius is no more. O setting sun,
But Cassius is dead. Oh, setting sun,
As in thy red rays thou dost sink to-night,
Just as your sinking rays glow red at dusk,
So in his red blood Cassius' day is set;
So with his red blood, Cassius’ day is over.
The sun of Rome is set! Our day is gone;
The sun of Rome has set. Our day is done;
Clouds, dews, and dangers come; our deeds are done!
Clouds, dews and danger come at us; we’re finished.
Mistrust of my success hath done this deed.
Their thinking I would lose has made this happen.
MESSALA
Mistrust of good success hath done this deed.
Their thinking we would lose has made this happen.
O hateful error, melancholy's child,
Oh, what a dreadful, melancholic error!
Why dost thou show to the apt thoughts of men
Why did this error make itself appear
The things that are not? O error, soon conceived,
As something it was not? For errors happen,
Thou never comest unto a happy birth,
Not when we hear of really happy news,
But kill'st the mother that engendered thee!
But happen prior to that happy moment!
TITINIUS
What, Pindarus! Where art thou, Pindarus?
Hey, Pindarus! Where are you, Pindarus?
MESSALA
Seek him, Titinius, whilst I go to meet
Find him, Titinius, whilst I go to meet
The noble Brutus, thrusting this report
The noble Brutus, thrusting what I’ve learned
Into his ears; I may say, thrusting it;
Into his ears. I say I will be ‘thrusting’,
For piercing steel and darts envenomed
For piercing swords and poisoned daggers
Shall be as welcome to the ears of Brutus
Will be as welcome to the ears of Brutus
As tidings of this sight.
As hearing of this news.
TITINIUS
Hie you, Messala,
Quickly, Messala,
And I will seek for Pindarus the while.
And I will look around for Pindarus.
[Exit MESSALA]
Why didst thou send me forth, brave Cassius?
Why did you send me there, brave Cassius?
Did I not meet thy friends? And did not they
Did I not meet your friends, and did they not
Put on my brows this wreath of victory,
Give me this wreath of victory on my head
And bid me give it thee?
And asked I give it to you?
Didst thou not hear their shouts?
Did you not hear their shouting?
Alas, thou hast misconstrued every thing!
Oh no, you misconstrued all that has happened.
But, hold thee, take this garland on thy brow;
But wait there, wear this garland on your head.
Thy Brutus bid me give it thee, and I
Your Brutus told me I should give you it,
Will do his bidding. Brutus, come apace,
And I’ll do as instructed. Brutus, hurry,
And see how I regarded Caius Cassius.
And see how I discovered Caius Cassius.
By your leave, gods:--this is a Roman's part
With your consent, gods, it’s a Roman’s part:
Come, Cassius' sword, and find Titinius' heart.
With Cassius sword, I’ll stab through my own heart!
[Kills himself]
[Alarum. Re-enter MESSALA, with BRUTUS, CATO, STRATO, VOLUMNIUS, and LUCILIUS]
BRUTUS
Where, where, Messala, doth his body lie?
Oh where, Messala, is his body lying?
MESSALA
Lo, yonder, and Titinius mourning it.
It’s over there; you’ll see Titinius mourning.
BRUTUS
Titinius' face is upward.
Titinius’ face looks skyward.
CATO
He is slain.
He is dead.
BRUTUS
O Julius Caesar, thou art mighty yet!
Oh Julius Caesar, you’re remaining strong;
Thy spirit walks abroad and turns our swords
Your spirit walks with us and turns our swords
In our own proper entrails.
To slash our stomachs open.
[Low alarums]
CATO
Brave Titinius!
Brave Titinius!
Look, whether he have not crowned dead Cassius!
Look here! He even put the crown on Cassius.
BRUTUS
Are yet two Romans living such as these?
Are there two better Romans than these living?
The last of all the Romans, fare thee well!
The last of all the Romans, fond farewell.
It is impossible that ever Rome
It is impossible that Rome will ever
Should breed thy fellow. Friends, I owe more tears
Breed men as good as you. I owe more tears
To this dead man than you shall see me pay.
To this dead man than you will see me cry.
I shall find time, Cassius, I shall find time.
I will find time, Cassius; I will find time.
Come, therefore, and to Thasos send his body:
So, come now, have his corpse taken to Thasos.
His funerals shall not be in our camp,
We mustn’t hold his funeral in our camp
Lest it discomfort us. Lucilius, come;
In case it is upsetting. Come, Lucilius.
And come, young Cato; let us to the field.
And come, young Cato, to the battlefield.
Labeo and Flavius, set our battles on:
Labeo and Flavius, send troops ahead.
'Tis three o'clock; and, Romans, yet ere night
It’s three o’clock, and Romans, before nightfall,
We shall try fortune in a second fight.
We’ll try again to win our second fight.
[Exeunt]
