Page:Julius Caesar (1919) Yale.djvu/39

Julius Cæsar, II. i  

Bru. Give me your hands all over, one by one.

Cas. And let us swear our resolution.

Bru. No, not an oath: if not the face of men, The sufferance of our souls, the time's abuse,— If these be motives weak, break off betimes, And every man hence to his idle bed; So let high-sighted tyranny range on, Till each man drop by lottery. But if these, As I am sure they do, bear fire enough To kindle cowards and to steel with valour The melting spirits of women, then, countrymen, What need we any spur but our own cause To prick us to redress? what other bond Than secret Romans, that have spoke the word And will not palter? and what other oath Than honesty to honesty engag'd, That this shall be, or we will fall for it? Swear priests and cowards and men cautelous, Old feeble carrions and such suffering souls That welcome wrongs: unto bad causes swear Such creatures as men doubt; but do not stain The even virtue of our enterprise, Nor th' insuppressive mettle of our spirits, To think that or our cause or our performance Did need an oath; when every drop of blood That every Roman bears, and nobly bears, Is guilty of a several bastardy, If he do break the smallest particle  112 all over: successively 114 face of men: mute appeal in the people's looks 115 sufferance: suffering, distress the abuse: abuses of the time 116 betimes: before it's too late 118 high-sighted: haughty 119 lottery: arbitrary decree 123 What: why 125 Than secret: than that of resolute 126 palter: play fast and loose 129 cautelous: crafty, deceitful 130 carrions: wretches no better than soulless carcasses suffering: long-suffering 133 even: just 134 insuppressive: irrepressible 135 or or: either  or 138 Is individually condemned as illegitimate 